May 23 (Reuters) – Iran will base their squad in the Mexican border city of Tijuana during this year’s World Cup after soccer’s world governing body FIFA approved a request to move the training camp from Arizona, the head of Iran’s football federation said on Saturday.
“We will be based in the Tijuana camp, which is near the Pacific Ocean and on the border between Mexico and the United States,” Iran’s soccer federation President Mehdi Taj said in a video posted on its Telegram social media account.
Taj added that the move would help avoid visa-related complications and that the squad would be able to travel directly to Mexico aboard Iran Air flights.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran will play their first two Group G matches in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
“The total distance between us and the venue of our games in Los Angeles is 55 minutes by flight,” Taj said, adding that Tijuana was closer to their match venues than the team’s previously planned camp in Arizona.
Iran has faced uncertainty for months over travel and security arrangements for the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iranian officials said this month that their players and staff had yet to receive U.S. visas less than a month before the start of the tournament.
Taj said FIFA had been asked for guarantees over visas, security and the treatment of the Iranian delegation.
The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19.
(Reporting by Hatem Maher and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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