FIFA has made a decision after Iran requested to move their 2026 World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico.
On 17 March 2026, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) responded to Iran after they proposed relocating their 2026 FIFA World Cup final round matches in June from the United States to Mexico.
Mehdi Taj, President of the Iranian Football Federation, revealed he is negotiating to move the Iranian national team's schedule for the 2026 World Cup, where they were drawn into Group G and are set to play all three matches in the United States as follows.
15 June 2026: Iran vs. New Zealand (SoFi Stadium – Los Angeles, California).
21 June 2026: Iran vs. Belgium (SoFi Stadium – Los Angeles, California).
26 June 2026: Iran vs. Egypt (Lumen Field – Seattle, Washington).
This decision comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, where the United States and Israel conducted attacks on Iran, resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after which Iran retaliated.
Last week, former US President Donald Trump said that although Iran is welcome to participate in the 2026 World Cup, he believed it was unsuitable for them to attend "for their own lives and safety."
Consequently, Mehdi Taj, President of the Iranian Football Federation, sought to negotiate with FIFA to move the 2026 World Cup matches to Mexico after Trump clearly stated he could not guarantee the safety of the Iranian national team, meaning they would definitely not travel to the United States.
However, FIFA's spokesperson recently dashed Iran's hopes by stating, "FIFA maintains regular contact with all member associations participating, including Iran, to discuss preparations for the World Cup."
"FIFA expects all participating teams to compete according to the schedule announced on 6 December 2025."