In the midst of a war with the United States, the Iranian Football Federation has stated that Iran is “boycotting the United States” but “not the World Cup.” It remains to be seen if the Iranian team will be able to relocate its matches to Mexico, another host country of the World Cup (alongside Canada and the United States).
The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, affirmed on Wednesday that his country “boycotts the United States” but “not the World Cup,” as the participation of Team Melli in the 2026 World Cup remains uncertain due to the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
“We are preparing for the World Cup. We boycott the United States, we do not boycott the World Cup,” Taj declared in a video broadcast by the Iranian news agency Fars.
The Iranian team is set to participate in a training camp in Turkey starting next week, marking the beginning of a window of international matches, with two friendly games scheduled, without specifying the names of the opponents.
Since the start of the war jointly launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28, Iranian leaders have been making multiple, sometimes contradictory statements about the national team’s participation in the World Cup (June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada), even though Team Melli is supposed to play all three of its first-round matches on American soil.
Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle during the first round of the World Cup. Their tournament base is supposed to be in Tucson, Arizona.
After initially threatening to boycott the competition, Iranian officials now express readiness to take part in the tournament but not in the United States.
The Iranian Embassy in Mexico confirmed on Monday that the Iranian Football Federation was negotiating with FIFA to play its matches in Mexico. When asked about this, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum replied on Tuesday that her country was ready to host Team Melli.
Contacted by AFP on Tuesday, FIFA stated that they were “in regular contact with all participating federations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to discuss the planning of the World Cup.”
However, FIFA did not confirm the possibility of relocating Iran’s matches, stating that they were “pleased” to see all teams “participating in the tournament in accordance with the match schedule announced on December 6, 2025.”
On the other hand, U.S. President Donald Trump on March 12 expressed his concern that Team Melli players would not be safe if they came to the United States.
“The Iranian national team is welcome at the World Cup but I really don’t think that their presence is appropriate, for their own life and safety,” he wrote on his Truth Social network.
