Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Iranian national football team is continuing its preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 finals and has no intention of withdrawing from the tournament, but plans to “boycott” matches held in the United States, football chief Mehdi Taj has confirmed, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media.

Iran was one of the first nations to qualify for the finals, but their participation has been in doubt since tensions between the Islamic Republic and the United States escalated in late February.

The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and is being co-hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada. Team Melli is scheduled to play all three of its opening-round group matches in the US, but Taj said on Monday that the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) is negotiating with FIFA to relocate the matches to Mexico.

Ahead of the tournament, Iran will play Nigeria on March 27 and Costa Rica four days later in Antalya as part of a four-nation invitational tournament. This event had to be moved from Jordan due to regional conflict.

“The national team is holding a training camp in Turkiye, and we will also play two friendly matches there,” FFIRI President Taj told Fars News Agency on Wednesday. “We will boycott America, but we will not boycott the World Cup.”

Taj made his comments while welcoming players from the Iranian women’s national team back to Iran at the Turkiye border, following their protracted journey from Australia. The delegation, who were in Australia for the Women’s Asian Cup, had been offered asylum over safety concerns. While seven initially accepted, only two remained in Australia.

US President Donald Trump had urged Australia to offer asylum to the players and later suggested that while the Iranian men were technically welcome to compete in the US, questions remained about their “life and safety.” Trump emphasized that any threat would not come from the US, but Taj—a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—cited the statement as justification for requesting a venue change.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country would be open to hosting Iran’s World Cup matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt, but the final decision rests with FIFA.

FIFA confirmed it is in contact with FFIRI but stressed it “looks forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025.”

Beau Busch, Asia Pacific president of the football players’ union FIFPRO, emphasized that FIFA has a responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone at the World Cup.

“FIFA has an institutional duty to protect human rights,” the Australian told Reuters. “What’s critical is that they conduct a thorough human rights impact assessment to ensure that every participant—players, officials, and fans alike—can be safe, and that all potential risks are identified and mitigated effectively.”

Interestingly, this situation highlights how global sporting events are increasingly intertwined with geopolitics and human rights, forcing football’s governing bodies to navigate complex international tensions while keeping the world’s largest sporting stages secure.