Iranian football chief vows to ‘boycott America, but not World Cup’ amid push to move matches to Mexico

The president of Iran’s football federation has reportedly announced that the nation will “boycott America, but not the World Cup,” amid growing doubts over their participation in the tournament.

The statement comes after US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran since late February, which have overshadowed the team’s scheduled group matches, which are due to be held in the US this summer.

Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency on Wednesday: “We will boycott America, but we will not boycott the World Cup.”

It echoed earlier remarks attributed to Mr Taj on Tuesday, posted on the Iranian embassy in Mexico’s X account, where he claimed he was in “negotiations” with FIFA to move Iran’s fixtures to Mexico.

However, the Press Association understands that as of Thursday morning, FIFA had not received any official notification from the Iranian federation regarding any transfer.

FIFA itself issued a statement on Tuesday, ruling out the possibility of a sports move, confirming that it expected all teams to compete “according to the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025”.

Even if we move the group stage matches, potential problems will persist for the subsequent knockout rounds.

For instance, if both Iran and the United States secure second place in their respective groups, they will face off in Dallas on July 3.

Donald Trump commented last week that it would not be “appropriate” for Iran to play in the World Cup “for its life and safety”.

Despite the uncertainty, Mr Taj reportedly told Fars News Agency on Wednesday that Iran plans to proceed with friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica in Turkey later this month.

Iran has been drawn in Group G at the World Cup and will play New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, with the first two matches scheduled in California and the final in Seattle.