2026 World Cup opens in Mexico City amid teacher protests

Sheinbaum Skips World Cup Opener, Gives Ticket to Indigenous Athlete Amid Teacher Protests

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca with hosts Mexico facing South Africa, President Claudia Sheinbaum will not be in the stands. Instead, she donated her ticket — No. 00001, row 1, seat 1 — to a 21-year-old Indigenous woman from Veracruz who won a national ball-handling contest, while a teachers’ strike threatens the planned Fan Fest in the capital’s central square.

A Ticket for a Young Champion

Sheinbaum, the first female president in Mexico’s history, announced in March that she would forgo attending the opening match, saying she wanted to give prominence to young Mexican female soccer players. In late May, she made good on that promise by presenting the ticket to Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua, selected by a jury for her skills in a government-organized competition.espn

“They are the pride of Mexico. They will not represent the president, or the head of government, they will represent Mexico,” Sheinbaum said at the ceremony. The president also gave away tickets for matches in Guadalajara and Monterrey to three other young amateur athletes.espn

Fan Fest Under Threat

The festive atmosphere surrounding the tournament’s opening has been complicated by a national teachers’ strike. The CNTE union, which launched its action on June 1, has occupied the Zócalo — the historic plaza where FIFA’s official Fan Fest was planned — demanding a doubling of salaries. Thousands of demonstrators have blocked key intersections and marched through the city in recent days, with France 24 reporting that protesters obstructed a road leading to the Azteca Stadium on Tuesday.france24

Sheinbaum, who had originally said she would watch the match at the Zócalo, acknowledged Wednesday that the venue may not be available. “If for some reason it cannot be held on opening day in the Zócalo, there are 18 venues that were planned in advance by the Mexico City Government,” she said.espn

The Match and the Backdrop

The tournament opener pits Mexico against South Africa at 1 p.m. local time, a reverse of the 2010 World Cup’s opening fixture. Shakira and Burna Boy are set to perform the tournament’s official song at a pre-match ceremony. But outside the stadium, the political tensions remain unresolved. The Sheinbaum administration has called the CNTE’s demand for a 100% wage increase “incompatible with the federal budget,” though discussions continue. Her government offered a 10% salary increase by September 2026, which the union rejected as insufficient.cbsnews