2026 World Cup at risk of becoming a 'stage for repression and authoritarian practices'

Martin Macdonald

• 31 Mar 2026 19:15 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Amnesty International says the 2026 World Cup is at risk of becoming a "stage for repression and authoritarian practices".

The next edition of the World Cup will take place this summer across North America, with fixtures being held at different venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The tournament hasn't even started yet and is embroiled in a number of controversies, such as how expensive it will be for supporters, as well as the ongoing conflict between the USA and Israel and Iran, a participating nation in the World Cup.

Amnesty has detailed "significant risks" to fans, players, journalists, workers and local communities during the World Cup. The main cause for concern for Amnesty is the violence on the streets of the USA that has been caused by President Donald Trump's deployment of Immigration and Customs agents throughout the country.

In January, two American citizens were shot and killed by ICE agents - Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Pointing to "troubling attacks on human rights", Amnesty claims the "starkest threat" to visitors to the World Cup may be "the machine of abusive, discriminatory and deadly immigration enforcement and mass detention in the USA".

The organisation warns that "severe restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protest" threaten the "safe, welcoming and inclusive" event promised by FIFA.

For example, some tourists travelling to the United States, including millions of football fans set to descend on the country next year, have been forced to provide five years worth of social media activity in order to pass border control.

The USA and Trump have been accused of censorship by critics.

“The seriousness of this move should not be downplayed,” said Jemimah Steinfeld, the chief executive of Index on Censorship in London.

“Through a simple search any posts critical of Trump and his administration could be revealed and then what? Will admission to the USA be predicated on being nice about the president? That would be censorship pure and simple and the result will extend far beyond as people start to self-censor to keep the door to the USA open to them.”

The Big Brother Watch campaign group accused Trump of taking away civil liberties.

“The US government would each year have access to millions of years’ worth of social media content, the vast majority of which includes speech that is legal in the United States,” said Matthew Feeney, the group’s advocacy manager.

“This would encourage millions of law-abiding people, including many American citizens, to self-censor criticism of the US government. So much for the Trump administration’s commitment to free speech.”

In its 36-page report titled 'Humanity Must Win: Defending rights, tackling repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup', Amnesty called on the USA, Canada and Mexico to "meet their obligations under international human rights law, while Fifa, national FAs and sponsors all have clear responsibilities to respect human rights…"

"The US government has deported more than 500,000 people from the USA in 2025, more than six times as many people than will watch the World Cup final in the MetLife Stadium", said Amnesty's head of economic and social justice Steve Cockburn.

"It's a deeply troubling time in the US, which will certainly extend to fans who want to take part in World Cup celebrations."

Police and the national guard have been deployed to Democratic cities who are protesting against ICE agents which has let to violent confrontations with the public.

"Despite the astounding numbers of arrests and deportations, neither Fifa nor the US authorities have provided any guarantees that fans and local communities will be safe from ethnic and racial profiling, indiscriminate raids, or unlawful detention and deportation," said Cockburn.

"Only four of the 16 host cities have so far published their human rights plans, and none of those that have done so to date say anything about protection from abusive immigration enforcement.

"This World Cup is no longer the 'medium risk' tournament that Fifa once judged it to be - whether it is to protect people from ICE, guarantee the right to protest or prevent homelessness, urgent action is needed to make sure the reality of this World Cup matches its original promise."

Amnesty says that ICE and other agencies "pose a chilling threat to people living in the US, those traveling to see a game, and players themselves".