The Great Fleecing Tournament: Pricing, Problems and the 2026 FIFA World Cup |
CounterPunch Exclusives
CounterPunch Exclusives
The Great Fleecing Tournament: Pricing, Problems and the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Countdown clock on Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City. Photograph Source: Cocu15 – CC BY-SA 4.0
When dealing with the disorganised criminal outfit that is FIFA (the mafia comparison only goes so far), the titan governing body of world football, subpar service and offerings promise to feature. As gulled fans, corporate clients, media hacks and political worthies seek their place at the Men’s FIFA World Cup being held in the US, Mexico and Canada this June, the feeling of being burgled should not be far from their minds. A great tournament of fleecing is in the offing.
Take, firstly, the risks for those seeking to enter the United States to see the matches. Last month, over 120 organisations, among them the American Civil Liberties Union, collectively issued a “travel advisory” tartly warning about “the Trump administration’s violent and abusive immigration crackdown”. No room for a softening of tone here. “The administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence pose serious risks to all”. However, “those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic policy groups, the LGBTQ individuals have been and continue to be disproportionately targeted and affected”.
Elements of the warning are enumerated: the arbitrary denial of entry and risk of arrest, detention and/or deportation of non-US nationals, even those with prior authorisation to enter; selectively onerous restrictions on the entry or nationals, with partial or full restriction of entry on the citizens of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, a number of African states, Iran, Syria and Yemen; and partial restrictions on those from 20 (again, overwhelmingly African states, with the exception of Turkmenistan, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda). Certain visa applicants are also subject to social media screening and a search of their electronic devices, while those admitted risk enjoying the warm hospitality of “violent and unconstitutional enforcement, including racial........