As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, co-host United States faces increasing scrutiny over its failure to uphold fundamental “contractual guarantees” regarding freedom of movement and entry for participating nations and their supporters. These issues have cast a shadow over the tournament, which is also being hosted by Canada and Mexico.
A core condition for any World Cup host, FIFA’s contractual provisions mandate unrestricted access for all nations. Journalist Miguel Delaney highlighted this critical requirement, stating, “When a World Cup is awarded, there are a number of contractual provisions about how a tournament basically has to give certain guarantees, literal guarantees, of the terms used about freedom of movement for participating nations and entry.” Delaney further noted on LBC that “FIFA, evidently, despite Infantino’s very craven relationship with Donald Trump, hasn’t been able to secure those guarantees.” This comes after FIFA previously stripped Indonesia of the Under-20s World Cup due to its refusal to allow Israel’s team into the country.
The challenges are particularly acute for Iran. Despite having all three of its group stage games scheduled in the United States, the Iranian squad has been unable to secure a training base within the country. This forces them to prepare for the tournament in Mexico and commute into the US, adhering to a strict 24-hour window around their matches, as reported by The Independent. This logistical hurdle follows a period of heightened geopolitical tension, including US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a missile strike on a primary school in Minab, which killed 168 people, including 110 children. Upon landing in Mexico, the Iranian squad wore lapel pins to highlight the Minab atrocity.
The issues extend beyond Iran. An African referee, Omar Artan, was reportedly denied entry to America, and fans from various nations have encountered significant visa obstacles. Amnesty has described the situation as a “human rights emergency” in the USA surrounding the World Cup, specifically pointing to a “chilling threat” posed to fans and players by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as quoted by Miguel Delaney in The Independent, has previously underscored the necessity of access for all, stating, “It’s obvious when it comes to Fifa competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup.”
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These mounting controversies, including earlier concerns from European nations over Donald Trump’s attempted takeover of Greenland, challenge the initial promise of a “low-risk and operational certainty” tournament that was meant to depart from the politicized World Cups of the past. The ability of the United States to resolve these fundamental access issues remains a significant concern as the tournament’s opening looms.
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