Niamh Shackleton
The Iranian national soccer team were left with nowhere to stay during the upcoming World Cup because the US refused to host them, sparking Fifa to step in and ask another country to do so.
The start of the World Cup is just a couple of weeks away, with the soccer tournament being hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
This year's World Cup will see 48 countries go head-to-head to take home the coveted trophy, which was last won by Argentina in 2022.
One of these countries that's taking part in the World Cup is Iran, despite its ongoing tensions with America.
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The US launched a joint attack with Israel on the country on February 28, which killed Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
With the conflict in mind, questions were raised about whether Iran would compete in the World Cup – and if President Donald Trump would allow them.
But Trump's close pal Gianni Infantino, Fifa's president, confirmed back in March that Iran would be taking part in the tournament. However, it's remained unclear where they Iranian national soccer team would stay.
Now Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has confirmed that they will host the team because the US refused to do so.
She said in a statement on Monday (May 25), per The Guardian: "The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States."
Sheinbaum continued to stay that Fifa then approached her and asked if the soccer team could stay in Mexico instead.
Sharing her reply, the Mexican president went on: "We said, 'Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that.'"
Iran plays Group G games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium six days later, ESPN reports. They'll then go head-to-head with Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.
Having Iran stay in Mexico instead of the US will resolve any possible visa issues the soccer team had been facing as they'll now enter America via Mexico.
Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, has also confirmed that the Iranian team will be hosted by Mexico.
"All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] Fifa," Taj said in his statement.
"Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with Fifa and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected Fifa secretary general, our request to change the team's base from the United States to Mexico was approved."