Published On 4/27/2026
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Last update: 23:36 (Mecca time)
Human Rights Watch warned on Monday that the 2026 World Cup this summer may be dominated by an atmosphere of “exclusion and fear” as a result of crackdowns on immigration, demonstrations, and freedom of the press in the United States.
The non-governmental organization said in a statement addressed to journalists that the World Cup finals risk becoming “a platform for repressive policies that target migrants and visitors, highlighting racism, exclusion, fear and discrimination.”
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Human Rights Watch warned of what it described as “increasing authoritarian tendencies and a decline in human rights in the United States.”
The organization added that President Donald Trump’s return to power has led to “increasing threats to freedom of the press, the rights of peaceful demonstrators, and the security of society.”
The global football festival will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico, where 78 of the 104 matches will be held in the United States.
Human Rights Watch accuses FIFA of a “weak response”
“Fans, journalists and others who travel to the United States face the risk of arrest, deportation or discrimination in light of the human rights landscape shaped by the policies of the administration of US President Donald Trump,” Maya Leibing, head of the Americas division at Amnesty International in Germany, said in a press conference regarding the Human Rights Watch document.
The document accused FIFA of a “weak response” to what it described as “Trump’s arbitrary policies.”
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, has close relations with Trump, and the international organization awarded him the “FIFA Peace Prize” last year.
Fans’ concerns have grown amid ongoing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting illegal immigrants.
According to Human Rights Watch, citing American statistics, at least 167,000 people were arrested between January 2025 and March of this year in and around the eleven cities where the World Cup matches will be held.
During last year’s Club World Cup, which serves as a trial run for the main tournament, an asylum seeker who took his children to the final was detained in New Jersey, separated from them, and then deported, according to an NGO.
Four countries participating in the finals, namely Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast, may be forced to play without the support of their fans, due to their citizens being subject to the US travel ban.
