But with hours before the first kickoff, there are problems afoot. FIFA’s ticket inventory remains vastly undersold (due in large part to its exorbitant prices), hotel block bookings have been canceled due to low visitorship, and other superlatives have all but overtaken any event excitement: This World Cup is expected to be the most expensive, the hottest on record, the most emissions-producing, and, potentially, the one that will be remembered for anything other than the game.
Far from keeping politics out of play, the Trump administration has wasted no opportunity to use this global stage to debut a new American image, on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary, one that is exclusive, exclusionary, and vainglorious. As many had already anticipated, the political tenor of the U.S.-hosted World Cup is set to eclipse the tournament itself.
But that doesn’t seem to be of particular concern to the tournament’s presiding host and FIFA head Gianni Infantino’s close friend, U.S. President Donald Trump, who stole the spotlight at last year’s Club World Cup and quite literally refused to leave the stage. Trump has already playfully rebranded this World Cup as the “MAGA-FIFA World Cup,” with FIFA’s passive consent, and rights advocates and fan groups expect him to host the event accordingly.
“Trump and the MAGA project are going to stamp themselves all over this tournament to burnish MAGA via soccer,” said Nicholas McGeehan, program director at the rights group FairSquare. “And given the power of the game and the way it’s going to be broadcast around the world, it’ll be effective.”
Looming over the proceedings is the fact that the U.S., aided by Israel, is actively at war with Iran. The fact that Iran is competing in the World Cup hosted by its aggressor will not be lost on anyone, but hostilities that take place during the tournament might.
While Trump has previously stated that “fans from all over the world will be welcome,” few have ever actually believed that the first ever World Cup in which the host nation is at war with a qualified nation will be as hospitable as advertised.
The Trump administration’s unfriendliness has also extended to other tournament participants: Two players—one from Switzerland and one from Morocco—had their visas denied until the eleventh hour, and one source alleges that the latter’s refusal was due to his father’s appearance (particularly his beard). Meanwhile, an Iraqi player was questioned for seven hours at Chicago O’Hare Airport upon arrival for the tournament, and the Iraqi team’s photographer was denied entry due to “vetting concerns,” according to a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Moreover, both the Senegalese and Uzbek teams were forced to undergo unusually strict security protocols when they arrived in the U.S.
Fans from Scotland, too, have reported last-minute changes to their travel permits to the U.S., moving from “approved” to unauthorized within a week of the tournament’s opening game. One Scottish fan, in fact, had his visa revoked an hour before his flight. Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Lauren Bis explained more recent rejections as, simply, “the Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws.”
“This World Cup won’t be remembered as ‘the most inclusive World Cup,’ but as the World Cup that actually kept the world outside,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport and Rights Alliance.
Given how quickly FIFA abandoned its own human rights policy—which, if it worked in the first place, would have been deployed to protect players and support staff from harassment by the host’s immigration enforcement agencies—it’s hard to believe that the global sports body’s commitments ran particularly deep. “FIFA has said, ‘We will conduct football in the way that Trump sees fit,’” said Foster. “Anything that is not consistent with what Trump thinks is right in the world places you at risk.”
Take, for example, the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the most contentious element of the tournament’s security apparatus. The Department of Homeland Security has assured that every agency will be on-site at the stadiums but that they are not expected to be deployed for immigration enforcement—messaging that contradicts what DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told CBS News only last month: “ICE always says immigration enforcement. We’re always going to do that. But we’re not there for solely that purpose.”
How roles between law enforcement agencies will be delineated is also unclear.
FIFA has offered little more than a boilerplate statement in response to fears about fans entering the host government’s hostile human rights environment. “Any journalist should attempt to get FIFA staff to say the word ‘ICE’ out loud,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, who was also in the press conference. “They won’t do it, and that means that they are not addressing the direct risks to fans, players, journalists, communities, and workers.”
FIFA does have a grievance mechanism to report on human rights abuses, but Worden said it’s very poorly publicized. What’s more, said Florence from the Sport and Rights Alliance, “it’s not functional.” Abuse reports are handled internally by FIFA, which may not have capacity to address the issue and may also choose not to, especially if it involves FIFA itself.
It’s fallen to local activist organizations to fill the vacuum left by FIFA. Danny Navarro, the D.C.-based content creator behind the TravelFutbolFan Instagram account, has been giving guidance to visiting and local fans, as well as informing them of the political overtures of the tournament.
The onus, then, is on the fans to keep themselves safe. “Fans have to come ready and absolutely not depend on FIFA, because FIFA is not there to protect them,” said Navarro. “FIFA is there to make money, end of story.”
In the U.S., “we do not suffer from a lack of civil society oversight or nonprofit organizations,” said Li, who also leads Dignity 2026, a coalition of civil society organizations across labor, sports equity, and civil rights, coordinated through Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute.
In lieu of any real assurances from FIFA on the safety of fans and local communities, civil society organizations have stepped in to effectively absorb the occasion of the World Cup into their battle-worn rapid response infrastructure. Volunteer immigration lawyers across the country are standing by, including at airports, ready to avail themselves to traveling fans in need of legal support. A mass Know Your Rights effort is also underway, both digitally and on-site in and around stadiums in World Cup host cities, to inform fans of their constitutional rights, for instance via the Immigrant Legal Resource Center’s campaign distributing wallet-size “red cards” for fans and community members to carry in case they are confronted by law enforcement.
Brown also directs fans to Frontline FC, a joint effort by ISC and Dignity 2026 that connects visitors to “fan embassies” in host cities and provides city guides created by local soccer fans to visitors. The site also provides Know Your Rights information for visitors and workers, as well as important local and national hotline information, including what visiting fans need to know about immigration enforcement, encampments or unsheltered community members, and emergency medical needs.
Realistically, fan groups and civil society organizations have virtually no ambitions for this tournament beyond protecting as many people as possible. “We’re talking about mitigation—not even prevention—at this point,” said Li.
The ambiguity has left a lot of room for doubt, especially without any assurances from FIFA that fans and tournament participants will have their right to protected speech honored. (FIFA only recently restored its anti-racism and anti-discrimination campaign messaging after quietly removing them for last year’s Club World Cup.)
“Four years ago, we didn’t have a climate in Qatar whereby if athletes made a statement during the World Cup, [they] would be removed from the country or publicly attacked by the president of that country,” said Foster, the former captain for Australia. “That’s certainly the case now.”
There are other ways for players to protest too, whether that’s by wearing pins with political messages or petitioning FIFA for stronger safety measures against extreme heat.
But we should also expect more verbose displays of resistance, as well. Protest is already somewhat of a World Cup tradition, and advocacy groups expect this tournament to be no different.
“Trump understands the power of spectacle to influence his project,” said McGeehan of FairSquare. But, try as he might to curate it in his favor, the spotlight won’t only be on Trump—and when it is, he cannot guarantee adulation (despite his belief to the contrary).
“The World Cup happening in the USA is not a win for Donald Trump,” said Aziz. If anything, she said, it will put the U.S. under his leadership under more global scrutiny. “This is not going to be Trump’s coronation.”Hence then, the article about the world descends on an inhospitable world cup was published today ( ) and is available on The New Republic ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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