Amnesty urges FIFA chief to reject repression at World Cup

HRW and Amnesty Warn of Human Rights Risks at 2026 World Cup

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to kick off on June 11, two of the world’s leading human rights organizations are sounding alarms about the conditions awaiting fans, players, and journalists — particularly in the United States, where 78 of the tournament’s 104 matches will be held.

Human Rights Watch on Sunday released a 79-page “Reporters’ Guide for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States,” warning that the tournament “is unfolding against a backdrop of abusive immigration enforcement,” new threats to media freedom, and discrimination. The guide details how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested at least 167,000 people between January 20, 2025, and March 10 of this year in and around the 11 U.S. host cities, based on ICE data obtained through a freedom of information request and analyzed by the organization.hrw

Separately, Amnesty International on Wednesday called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to use his speech at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday to commit to a World Cup “free from deportations, detentions and repression”. Amnesty’s March report, titled “Humanity Must Win,” described the situation in the United States as a “human rights emergency” marked by mass detentions, arbitrary arrests, and discriminatory immigration policies.amnesty

Host Cities Falling Short on Promises

Both organizations have highlighted a glaring gap between FIFA’s pledges and reality on the ground. The 2026 World Cup was the first awarded under FIFA’s human rights bidding requirements, which called on all 16 host city committees to develop tailored human rights action plans. Yet as of late April, all but one host city committee have either failed to produce plans or delivered ones that ignore key risks facing immigrants, LGBT people, and journalists, according to Human Rights Watch. Amnesty International found that only four of the 16 host cities had published plans, and none addressed protection from abusive immigration enforcement.hrw

FIFA has said it “has in place mechanisms and procedures to respond to any human rights or safeguarding-related incident” and that an updated human rights activity report is “in preparation”.hrw

Growing Coalition of Concern

The warnings from HRW and Amnesty come amid a broader wave of pressure on FIFA. On April 22, the ACLU, Amnesty International, and more than 120 civil society organizations issued a joint “travel advisory” for international visitors attending the tournament, warning of potential racial profiling, invasive social media screening, suppression of speech and protest, and risks of detention.aljazeera

Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders have also jointly cautioned that the tournament could become a “sportwashing bonanza” for the Trump administration. Reuters reported that HRW is urging FIFA to push for an “ICE Truce” — a public guarantee that immigration enforcement operations will not target World Cup venues, fan festivals, and surrounding areas.youtube

“Instead, the U.S. administration’s brutal immigration crackdown, discriminatory policies, and threats to press freedom mean the tournament risks being defined by exclusion and fear,” Human Rights Watch said.hrw