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World football's governing body, FIFA, has ruled against Iran's 2026 World Cup move from the United States to Mexico, despite the war in the Middle East, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday.
Iran asked not to play its three group stage matches in the US after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 in fighting that has only stopped in recent days in a fragile ceasefire, with Washington threatening to continue its attacks.
"FIFA has definitively decided that the matches cannot be moved from their previously scheduled venues ," Sheinbaum told a news conference. "From FIFA's perspective, this would have involved a huge logistical effort ," she said.
FIFA had previously expressed reservations about Iran's request to move their matches against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt at the World Cup, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino pushed for Iran to participate, despite tense relations between Tehran and Washington.
"We want Iran to play and Iran will play in the World Cup. There is no plan B, C or D, there is only plan A," Infantino said.
The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, recently said the team is boycotting the U.S. but not the World Cup, without giving further details, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Amid the ceasefire, announced on Tuesday, talks between the US and Iran for a lasting peace solution will take place in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
Iran retaliated after the United States and Israel launched the war, including targeting Gulf states and closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime corridor for oil and trade.
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