A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #373 - Football: FIFA and the USA Score an Own Goal (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

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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