As FIFA’s Club World Cup unfolded across U.S. stadiums in June and July, empty seats told a story that FIFA’s $50 million in promotional ads did not. The soccer tournament featured 63 matches in 11 U.S. cities, with President Donald Trump announcing he will attend the final match on Sunday.
The Club World Cup was meant to preview and generate excitement about the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the men’s soccer tournament coming to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. This is supposed to be the largest and most inclusive sporting event ever, featuring teams and fans from 48 countries.
But the message from FIFA about the World Cup being the most inclusive ever was drowned out by the sound of Immigration and Customs Enforcement boots on the streets and sidewalks, including at stadiums.
President Trump’s enthusiasm for hosting the largest global sporting event conflicts with his zeal for detaining and ejecting immigrants and foreign visitors. While U.S. immigration abuses escalate, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is still claiming that “millions of visitors” will be coming to the 48-nation World Cup next year.
President Trump has ramped up preparations by naming himself chair of “The White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026.” As the tournament kicked off, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted on social media: “Let the games begin! The first FIFA Club World Cup games start on June 14th in Miami… CBP will be suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games.”
Intentionally or not, this language instilled fear in fans—both those living in the U.S., and those who considered traveling to the country for the games. The CBP post was later deleted, but the damage was done.
In another own goal, a 2026 World Cup countdown boat party hosted by Telemundo, one of the official broadcasters for the games, was cancelled on June 12 after U.S. Coast Guard and CBP officers interrupted the festivities, which included Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and FIFA officials. The mayor told the media: “Unfortunately, at a time our community should have been celebrating, the event had to be abruptly canceled due to a joint operation with Homeland Security and the Coast Guard.”
Instead of soccer fostering inclusion and global harmony, President Trump’s immigration policies are telling the world to stay away—as well as inspiring fear in those who live here.
Los Angeles, a host city for the 2026 World Cup, became ground zero for the clash between a welcoming global sporting event and immigration roundups. As the Club World Cup tournament unfolded, thousands of federal agents were roaming the streets of Southern California, seizing people from their workplaces, markets, and other places of daily life, terrorizing entire communities and forcing people into hiding. In response, protesters took to the streets to condemn the ramped-up ICE raids. At Dodger stadium in Los Angeles, ICE agents reportedly only left the property when stadium owners insisted.
The 2026 World Cup will depend on workers in stadiums, hotels where fans stay, and at fan zones and restaurants. It also depends on players, fans, families and ordinary people in host cities feeling safe. Yet the impact of ICE raids across Southern California is that immigrants fear going to work, church, school, markets, or simply stepping outside, much less working at or attending a sporting event.
A Trump executive order that took effect June 9 bars people from 12 countries from entering the U.S. Now the Trump administration is reportedly considering expanding this ban to cover as many as 36 additional countries. Athletes and coaches from qualifying countries are excluded from the ban, but if implemented, fans from 48 of FIFA’s 211 member associations—almost one quarter of all the participating countries—would be prohibited from entering the U.S. to watch the matches.
As the 2026 World Cup approaches, the world is watching to see whether the U.S. will honor its commitments to host a truly global tournament under a human rights framework.
In July, more than 90 human rights and civil rights groups including Athlete Ally, the NAACP, the ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the AFL-CIO wrote to FIFA president Infantino to call out escalating risks around the 2026 World Cup. It is now clear that without pressure from FIFA, the 2026 World Cup could be marred by scenes of fans, families and host city residents caught up in immigration sweeps. Even for the most loyal fan, no soccer match is worth risking detention, interrogation, family separation and deportation.
A major takeaway from the Club World Cup is that the U.S. role as a host nation is creating enormous risks. All World Cup hosts accept the responsibility to welcome the world. Trump’s policies may transform that invitation into a classic soccer feint: promising a warm global celebration, while heading towards an icy human rights chill.