Just a few miles from San Diego sits Tijuana, one of the busiest border cities between Mexico and the United States. Home of Liga MX side Club Tijuana, the city probably never imagined it would become part of the World Cup conversation — let alone host one of the 48 national teams heading to the biggest tournament on the planet.
But here we are.
FIFA officially unveiled the training base camps for all 48 teams competing at the 2026 World Cup and confirmed that Iran will move its operations from the United States to Mexico during the tournament.
The Asian side will now be headquartered at the Centro Xoloitzcuintle training complex in Tijuana, the home base of the Xolos.
Iran Moves South
Iran is scheduled to play group-stage matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, while also traveling to Seattle to face Egypt.
The move was first announced Saturday by Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, who revealed that FIFA had approved the relocation from the United States to Mexico.
According to Taj, Iran had originally planned to stay in Tucson, Arizona, but the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tensions in the Middle East and broader security concerns pushed federation officials to reconsider. Staff at Tucson’s Kino Sports Complex declined to comment on the situation, perhaps wisely choosing to stay out of geopolitics for the weekend.
Instead, Iran will operate out of Tijuana, just south of San Diego, during a World Cup that runs from June 11 through July 19 and will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
“All team base camps for participating countries must be approved by FIFA,” Taj explained. “Fortunately, after the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul — plus a virtual meeting in Tehran with FIFA’s secretary general — our request to move the team base from the United States to Mexico was accepted.”
Iran, making its fourth consecutive World Cup appearance and seventh overall, is still searching for its first trip beyond the group stage. Maybe a little Mexican hospitality — and some carne asada tacos — will finally do the trick.
The Iranian federation also noted that relocating to Mexico could help avoid potential visa complications, since the team would enter the United States through Mexico. Taj even mentioned the possibility of the squad flying in and out of the country using Iran Air (which has not flown into the U.S. since 1979).
Base camps serve as the teams’ operational headquarters during the tournament, where players train, recover, and attempt to avoid answering the same media questions for five straight weeks.
So, which countries will be calling Mexico home during the 2026 World Cup?
Seven teams with camps in Mexico:
- Colombia in Guadalajara
- Iran in Tijuana
- South Korea in Guadalajara
- South Africa in Pachuca
- Tunisia in Monterrey
- Uruguay in Cancún
- And, naturally, Mexico City for the Mexican national team
Complete list of 2026 World Cup base camps:
- Algeria — Kansas — University of Kansas
- Argentina — Kansas — Sporting KC Training Centre
- Australia — San Francisco Bay Area — Oakland Roots/Soul Training Centre
- Austria — Goleta — UC Santa Barbara / Harder Stadium
- Belgium — Renton — Seattle Sounders FC Performance Centre and Clubhouse
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — Sandy — RSL Stadium
- Brazil — New York/New Jersey — Columbia Park Training Facility
- Canada — Vancouver — National Soccer Development Centre
- Ivory Coast — Philadelphia — Philadelphia Union
- Congo — Houston — Houston Training Centre
- Colombia — Guadalajara — Academia Atlas FC
- Cape Verde — Tampa — Waters Sportsplex
- Croatia — Alexandria — Episcopal High School
- Curaçao — Boca Ratón — Florida Atlantic University
- Czech Republic — Dallas — Mansfield Multipurpose Stadium
- Ecuador — Columbus — Columbus Crew Performance Centre
- Egypt — Spokane — Gonzaga University
- England — Kansas City — Swope Soccer Village
- Spain — Chattanooga — Baylor School
- France — Boston — Bentley University
- Germany — Winston-Salem — Wake Forest University
- Ghana — Boston — Bryan University
- Haiti — New York/New Jersey — Stockton University
- Iran — Tijuana — Centro Xoloitzcuintle
- Iraq — Greenbrier County — The Greenbrier Sports Performance Centre
- Jordan — Portland — University of Portland
- Japan — Nashville — Nashville SC
- South Korea — Guadalajara — Chivas Verde Valle
- Saudi Arabia — Austin — Austin FC Stadium
- Morocco — New York/New Jersey — The Pingry School
- Mexico — Mexico City — Centro de Alto Rendimiento
- Netherlands — Kansas City — KC Current Training Facility
- Norway — Greensboro — UNC Greensboro
- New Zealand — San Diego — University of San Diego / Torero Stadium
- Panama — New Tecumseth — Nottawasaga Training Site
- Paraguay — San Francisco Bay Area — Spartan Soccer Complex
- Portugal — Palm Beach Gardens — Gardens North County District Park
- Qatar — Santa Barbara — Westmont College
- South Africa — Pachuca — CF Pachuca / Universidad del Fútbol
- Scotland — Charlotte — Charlotte FC
- Senegal — New York/New Jersey — Rutgers University
- Switzerland — San Diego — SDJA
- Sweden — Dallas — FC Dallas Stadium
- Tunisia — Monterrey — Rayados Training Centre
- Turkey — Mesa — Arizona Athletic Grounds
- Uruguay — Cancún — Mayakoba Training Centre Cancún
- United States — Irvine — Great Park Sports Complex
- Uzbekistan — Atlanta — Atlanta United Training Centre
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