Iran to boycott US but not FIFA World Cup – football chief

Iran intends to take part in this summer’s FIFA World Cup but only if the team’s matches are moved from the US to Mexico, the head of the country’s football federation has said. The announcement comes as the US and Israel continue their military campaign against Iran, now in its fourth week.

The 2026 World Cup is set to take place across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by Egypt in Seattle on June 26. 

However, Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, said in a video released on Wednesday that Iran will not be playing in the US. “We will boycott the United States but not the World Cup,” he said, adding that the federation has opened talks with FIFA about moving the games to Mexico.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has expressed openness to hosting Iran’s matches, stating this week that “Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, stated on Thursday that the organization wants the tournament to “go ahead as scheduled,” and is not moving toward granting Iran’s request to move its matches.

Last week, Infantino said US President Donald Trump had assured him the Iranian team would be “welcome” at the tournament. However, Trump has since suggested the Iranian team should not travel to the US “for their own life and safety,” suggesting their security cannot be guaranteed.

The controversy follows a separate incident involving Iranian women footballers in Australia earlier this month, where a man drove his utility vehicle, draped in Australian flags and symbols associated with opposition to the Iranian government, toward the team’s bus, ramming it multiple times, according to footage released by Iranian state media. 

Taj has cited Trump’s remarks as grounds for refusing to play on American soil, saying that when the president “has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.”