The 2026 World Cup is set to be a polarising event but, even if it will not be the first to be politically contentious, it will expose a growing unease
Five months out from the World Cup the politics are impossible to avoid. There are concerns relating to one of the host countries, the US, with armed immigration officials roaming through its cities and visa restrictions ramped up against foreign visitors. One qualifying nation, Iran, is experiencing a public uprising against its leadership, with the regime attacking its citizens in response. Among other qualifiers there are concerns over democratic backsliding in Tunisia, ecological crimes in Ecuador and , in the future host country Saudi Arabia. And that’s just for starters.
It sometimes feels as if this summer’s tournament, the one Gianni Infantino recently described as “the greatest show ever on planet Earth”, will serve as an inescapable reminder of the depressing state of the world in 2026. It could yet be an event that goes down in infamy. But it is hardly the only tournament to have prompted ethical concerns and serves as a reminder that the issue of how global sport should engage with such issues has remained largely unresolved.
