Iran sets up World Cup base in Tijuana amid visa concerns

Iran’s national soccer team landed in Tijuana before dawn Sunday, choosing a Mexican border base for its World Cup buildup as visa delays and security worries complicated the road to matches in the United States. The arrival turned the city just south of San Diego into a staging ground for a team that will sleep and train in Mexico but cross into the United States on game days.

The squad touched down shortly after 5 a.m. after flying from Antalya, Turkey, where Iran had spent about three weeks in camp. Ehsan Hajsafi was the first player to step off the plane, which carried markings for German charter airline USC, as the team began the final stretch of its preparations under a tight travel schedule.

Iran’s football federation moved the base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana with FIFA approval. The shift was driven in part by security concerns and by visa complications that still affected some members of the Iranian entourage, who were waiting for U.S. visas as the tournament approached. The move kept the team close to the border while reducing the immediate burden of U.S. entry procedures for daily training.

The timing matters because Iran’s three group-stage matches are all scheduled in the United States, with the World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. That has made every part of the team’s logistics more sensitive, from where players sleep to how staff, equipment and medical support will move across the border.

The choice of Tijuana also carried a political charge. With relations between Iran and the United States still strained, the team’s relocation has become part of a wider soft-power contest wrapped around the tournament, where sports, diplomacy and security planning are now tightly intertwined. For Iran, the base in Mexico is more than a convenient camp. It is a hedge against uncertainty, and a reminder that this World Cup will be played on a field shaped by geopolitics as much as by football.