On Feb. 26, 2016, newly elected Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) president Gianni Infantino took the stage to celebrate his victory. His election followed the 2015 FIFA corruption scandal, which saw world soccer’s governing body shaken by sweeping corruption indictments and multiple senior officials pleading guilty.
The FIFA president at the time, Sepp Blatter, who was deeply tied to the scandal, resigned. Infantino, the man charged with cleaning up the organization’s image, promised to “work with all of you together in order to restore and rebuild a new era of FIFA where we can again put football at the centre of the stage.” Unfortunately, what has followed in the decade since has been nothing short of brazen corruption on a scale that dwarfs the Blatter era.
The investigation, led by the U.S. in 2015, catalyzed World Cup hosting rights being awarded to Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Infantino wasn’t directly responsible for the decision to stage the tournament in such repressive countries, but he made a concerted effort to cozy up to both Russian president Vladimir Putin and Qatari Sheikh Tamim leading up to both tournaments. In both cases, there were serious human rights concerns surrounding the use of migrant laborers in the construction of stadiums, more than 6,500 of whom died during preparations for Qatar 2022 and for the repression of human rights and lack of protection for LGBTQ+ citizens in the respective nations.
In this context, the choice to award the 2026 World Cup to the U.S., Canada and Mexico seemed like a positive step in the right direction. However, considering the actions of the current administration and FIFA over the past year, this tournament promises to be even more problematic than the past two.
Since Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2025, Infantino has grown tight with the president in ways that have become increasingly farcical. The first sign of trouble occurred during this past summer’s Club World Cup, a tournament that was hosted as something of a trial run for the full World Cup. While the tournament was a success on the field, off-field chaos dominated news coverage. Whether it was the outrageously expensive tickets or the lack of preparations for inclement weather in the Southern cities, it came to a head in the final. After Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the Cup, Trump entered the stage to hand the players the trophy, then refused to leave during the trophy lift. The picture of Trump standing cluelessly unaware of how this latest egotistic act was perceived, surrounded by a bewildered set of Chelsea players, was just a sign of what was to come.
As Trump’s policies have become increasingly manic and incoherent in the following months, Infantino has moved even closer to him, likely in an attempt to prevent the administration’s wrath turning on FIFA. Trump briefly claimed that he would like to take the World Cup away from cities like San Francisco and Seattle due to his assertion that they were “unsafe.” FIFA quelled this impulse through the most embarrassing chapter in this story so far.
As Trump rambled about not being given the Nobel Peace Prize for ending eight wars, a claim which has been fact-checked as false, Infantino presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Though this was viewed as somewhat comical within the sport at the time, the fact that Trump proceeded to order the abduction of the leader of a foreign country mere weeks later is incredibly ironic for a so-called man of peace. His threats against Greenland have only furthered the view that this was a disgraceful choice from Infantino, a view reportedly shared by some within FIFA.
Given the abhorrent track record of past World Cup hosts, this alone would not be enough to strip the U.S.’s hosting rights or prompt a boycott. Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini hosted a tournament in 1934 and Argentina hosted one under a military junta in 1978. The 2022 tournament occurred in Qatar and the 2034 tournament is scheduled to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, another oppressive state that has shown a flagrant disregard for human rights and international law. This calculus has changed, however, following the imposition of yet another expanded travel ban and ICE’s murderous actions in Minnesota.
While the administration has promised that athletes, technical staff and officials from the countries on the ban list will still be allowed entry, given their track record, it’s almost impossible to know whether to believe any claim made by the government will come to fruition. As the ban list was extended and visa processing was halted for 75 nations earlier in January, including 14 nations that have qualified for final play-offs in March, it is unknown as to whether these countries will be able to have supporters enter the country.
On top of this, the idea that there won’t be athletes and officials who have trouble entering the country is inconceivable, despite the administration’s insistence. Just days ago, San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was temporarily detained by Customs and Border Protection upon re-entry to the country. While he was released relatively quickly, this scenario is likely to happen again.
Even if supporters can somehow enter the country, there is no guarantee they’ll be safe once they’re here. While ICE always posed a threat to foreign fans coming to the U.S., the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have thrust this issue squarely into the limelight. Supporters from foreign countries cannot consider themselves to be safe as roaming groups of masked thugs arbitrarily arrest people based on their race or accent, just to disappear them to El Salvador or a Customs and Border Protection detention center, or worse, murder them in the middle of the street. This is amplified by the fact that ICE will be present as part of stadium security, already warning people to bring proof of legal status. Considering that they have repeatedly ignored the legal status of people that they’ve detained, ICE cannot be trusted to uphold the safety of attendees.
While a boycott may seem unlikely, there have been preliminary talks surrounding one from some European federations. The German federation vice president raised the issue in the wake of Trump’s inflammatory comments about Greenland at Davos and in the days prior. If the president continues down the destructive, isolationist path he seems hellbent on following, these talks will only grow in frequency.
There is precedent for a boycott succeeding, too. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they were suspended by FIFA and UEFA, the European federation, after their World Cup playoff opponents refused to play against them. Russia remains suspended to this day. While clearly not the same scenario, a unified European boycott would likely force FIFA’s hand. These conversations also extend to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, both of which may be even more problematic.
This World Cup is the first edition expanded to 48 teams. While expansion was a somewhat controversial decision, FIFA’s pitch was that it would be the biggest celebration of the sport in history. The expansion opened up avenues for some incredible stories, such as Haiti miraculously qualifying for the first time in 52 years despite being unable to play at home for the past four years due to domestic turmoil. At least four nations will make their debuts, including the two smallest nations to ever qualify, Cape Verde and Curaçao. Stories like this should be the focus of this World Cup, yet they feel like an afterthought due to the actions of the administration.
Infantino’s promise in 2016 to “put football at the center of the stage” has never felt further away. To achieve something close to that utopian ideal, the World Cup needs to be hosted in a nation that can provide a safe, welcoming environment for fans and players alike. Currently, that cannot be said for the United States.