Mexican police investigate body found outside Tijuana Estadio Caliente stadium where Iran prepares for World Cup

Mexican authorities are investigating how the body ended up outside the stadium in the border city of Tijuana, where the Iranian national team was training for its upcoming World Cup match against New Zealand.

Officials said they found the body on Friday in a parking lot across from Caliente Stadium in Tijuana. The body was inside a bag in the trunk of a gray car, which the police opened because of its strong smell.

The Iranian national team is using Tijuana as its base during the World Cup due to visa delays, as well as travel restrictions imposed on the team’s administrative staff and coaches. The team will travel to Los Angeles next week to play its first match in the group stage against the New Zealand All Whites.

Tijuana is one of the ten most violent cities in Mexico, according to the Citizens Council for Public Security, a Mexican think tank that compiles an annual list of homicide rates in Mexico. Last year, the city government recorded 1,219 homicides in a city with a population of more than 2.3 million, indicating a 32 percent decrease from the number of homicides recorded in the city in 2024.

Tijuana is located along the Pacific coast of Mexico, adjacent to the US border. Criminal groups have long used the region to smuggle drugs, and have recently hosted thousands of immigrants who have been banned from entering the United States.