New Delhi, May 24 -- Iran's national football team has made a key change to its preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The squad will now base itself in the Mexican border city of Tijuana instead of Arizona after soccer's world governing body approved the switch.

The announcement came on Saturday from Mehdi Taj, president of Iran's football federation. In a video shared on the federation's Telegram channel, Taj explained the new plan.

"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 a...