While the United States, one of the three host countries of the World Cup, boasts of its racist policies by targeting and sanctioning certain national teams, the world's media chooses to turn a blind eye. Yet, the impact of such an event reaches billions of people and provides a media platform rarely seen. --- The FIFA World Cup is the world's biggest sporting event. This 2026 edition, taking place in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, demonstrates this once again with massive audiences. But off the pitch, as is often the case with these events, the picture is less rosy. Confirming its rampant racism, the Trump administration banned fans from several countries (Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, Senegal) or severely restricted visas for others-almost exclusively from predominantly non-white countries in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East. Football teams from several countries, such as Senegal, Uzbekistan, and Iraq, have sometimes been subjected to humiliating treatment (detained at customs for several hours, body searches, baggage inspections with dogs, etc.), and in the case of Iran, even a ban on remaining in the United States for more than a day, forcing them to leave immediately after their matches. While the United States has bombed their country and continues to inflict suffering on its population, the Iranian national team has to endure this additional humiliation. A Somali referee was also denied entry to the United States because of Trump's constant anti-Somali rhetoric[1]. While in the past, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA, which organizes the competition) had succeeded in imposing laws on governments[2], it bowed to the will of Trump, the new best friend of Gianni Infantino, the federation's president.
At a time when Donald Trump is pushing the world back to the brink of war, FIFA President Gianni Infantino (a close ally of Trump) presented him with the first FIFA Peace Prize on December 5, 2025.
White House
What is striking about these racist acts is the blatant impunity they have displayed. The Trump administration is not trying to hide it or even attempt to improve its image. When an event of this magnitude is organized by an authoritarian government (Argentina in 1978, Russia in 2018, Qatar in 2022, or even Nazi Germany with the 1936 Olympics), the government generally tries to put on a good show, to demonstrate that there are no problems. The sporting event then becomes a way to rebuild its reputation, even if this doesn't necessarily work in the long run. Whether out of racism, idiocy, or simple arrogance (surely a combination of all three), the United States isn't even attempting it. The desire to remain hostile to people of color and to impose its vision by force prevails. Seeing Trump endorse this policy before the world's cameras bodes ill for the rest of his presidency.
The unvarnished costs
In addition to all this racist treatment, there are exorbitant prices for matches and transportation. These costs for host cities, at the expense of public services, will not be covered by FIFA's billions in profits, nor by the brand wars driven by the federation's capitalist appetite. In this respect, nothing new. The goal is to finish off what has long since ceased to be a popular celebration and which aims to extract as much wealth as possible for FIFA's benefit. And so what if the local populations have to foot the bill?
Given the sheer number of mounting problems, one might have expected a large-scale protest movement to emerge, both locally and globally. Unfortunately, these attempts proved fruitless.
While a total boycott seems unrealistic[3], one might have at least expected a debate, similar to the one surrounding Qatar in 2022. This has been almost entirely absent. As is often the case with the United States, everything has been swept under the rug and the problems quickly dismissed. It is ironic, in fact, that those who called for a boycott of Qatar are now conspicuously silent. However, we must not go too far in the other direction by exonerating Qatar. It is worth remembering that at least 6,500 workers of Nepalese or Indian origin died in appalling working conditions while constructing Qatari stadiums. Therefore, a reasoned critique of both host countries is necessary.
Bringing the Struggle Home
We must also address our powerlessness in the face of these major sporting events. While strikes and blockades were announced for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with cries of "no pensions, no Olympics," very little actually materialized. For this World Cup, the failure in France is resounding. While it's clear the media machine quickly dismissed the debate, it's also worth noting that the social movement and militancy are at a very low level, and that taking up the issue didn't interest many people. Yet, it is imperative to build struggles by using these high-profile media events to achieve progress.
On June 1, 2026, teachers in Mexico began an indefinite national strike to demand decent pensions, salary increases, and the repeal of the neoliberal reforms that are making their jobs more precarious. while denouncing the financing of the World Cup.
National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE)
The only notable exception is in Mexico, where demonstrations of several thousand people are taking place on the sidelines of the World Cup to highlight the Mexican government's inaction in the crisis of the 135,000 missing persons in the country. Many of these missing persons have been kidnapped, killed, or trafficked by criminal groups, cartels, and sometimes even the police. For more than 20 years, this crisis has continued amid general indifference. While mass graves containing human remains were discovered in the state of Jalisco in 2025, the demonstrations and demands for government resources have intensified. Led by families, and primarily mothers, these protests hope to capitalize on the attention given to this competition to make their voices heard.
These demonstrations, while commendable for existing and demonstrating the impressive courage of families and groups, unfortunately still have too little impact. We must hope that they grow and don't fade into silence once the World Cup is over. Whether we are football fans or not, it is our activist duty to amplify the struggles against these events and try to make them a popular celebration again, far removed from FIFA and authoritarians of all stripes.
Sano (UCL Marseille)
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[1]This is explained in particular by the presence of a Somali community in Minnesota, which has been very violently criticized in racist terms by the Republican Party, including Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, who is reviled by Trump.
[2]There are many examples, such as the 2014 protests in Brazil regarding alcohol in stadiums.
[3]The best example of this was the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, which led several national teams to consider boycotting and generated significant demonstrations in many countries.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Football-La-FIFA-et-les-USA-marquent-contre-notre-camp
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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