Published On 13 May 202613 May 2026As the United States-Israeli war on Iran approaches its 12th week and US President Donald Trump declares his nation will win the war “one way or the other”, a sports facility in the US state of Arizona awaits the Iranian football team before the FIFA World Cup.Tucson, an oasis of civilisation in the Arizona desert, is to be the base camp for Team Melli when the world’s biggest sporting spectacle opens in the US, Mexico and Canada next month.“We’re just excited to host them here, and we’re going to give them a positive experience,” Sarah Hanna, director of the Kino Sports Complex, where the team will train, told the AFP news agency.Grass is being watered and cut to FIFA-regulation height to ensure that players don’t get any surprises when they take to the field in Los Angeles and Seattle, the venues for their group-stage games.Hotel rooms and meeting spaces are locked in, and security is tight. A worker cuts the grass at the Kino Sports Complex [Rebecca Noble/AFP]“Right now, I’m probably averaging about 12 to 20 meetings regarding this training facility a week,” Hanna said, “from our concessionaire for food and beverage … to lots of grounds meetings with FIFA coming out to check.”The flurry of activity in Tucson comes against the backdrop of the war, which began on February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded by launching attacks on Israel, military bases in the Middle East where US forces are deployed and energy facilities.Despite a ceasefire in place for a month, h …
