New Report Warns of Human Rights Threats During 2026 World Cup

Author: Vera Rousseff

April 1, 2026

HRRC urgently calls on FIFA, the national governments of Canada, Mexico, and the US, and the cities hosting the 2026 World Cup to take all necessary measures to ensure that human rights are respected during the competition. Players, workers, journalists, fans, and local communities have the right to personal safety, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly during the World Cup and must be protected from unlawful detention, deportation, and discrimination.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy [Image credit: Alika Jenner/FIFA via Getty Images]

On Monday, March 30, the international human rights organization Amnesty International published a report warning of the human rights risks posed by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held later this year in Canada, the US, and Mexico. The report, titled Humanity Must Win: Defending Rights, Tackling Repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, details significant risks for players, journalists, workers, fans, and local communities in all three host countries. The authors of the report urge national governments, FIFA, host cities, and national Football Associations (FAs) to respect human rights and ensure that the competition does not become “a stage for repression and a platform for authoritarian practices.”

The report highlights three major threats to both visiting and local participants in the World Cup. The first is “abusive immigration enforcement and discriminatory border patrol” perpetuated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other agencies. FIFA, US authorities, and host cities have not outlined any plans to protect World Cup participants from unlawful detention, deportation, and other threats posed by these agencies, despite acting head of ICE Todd Lyons announcing in February that the agency will be "a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup." Additionally, the severe travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on certain countries that have qualified for the World Cup—such as Haiti, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire—will make it difficult for fans from those countries to attend the competition, while other fans may face increased scrutiny and intrusive surveillance before and during their travel to the US.

The second risk outlined in the report is a restriction on peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has consistently classified Mexico as one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, while in the US, media outlets and journalists have been increasingly targeted by the Trump administration for criticizing current policies. The Mexican government has also pledged to deploy 20,000 military personnel as part of their security plan for the World Cup, a decision that has drawn criticism from human rights advocates due to the Mexican military’s involvement in extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations. Meanwhile, in both Canada and the US, law enforcement has been used to restrict peaceful protests against the Israeli governments’s genocide in Gaza. 

Finally, the report warns of an increased risk of discrimination against LGBTQI+ fans and players. The authors point to the US administration’s attacks on the rights of transgender people and other members of the LGBTQI+ community, as well as persistent discrimination and violence committed against transgender and queer individuals in Mexico and Canada.

Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, has expressed serious concern about the inadequate human rights plans published by host cities, as well as the absence of meaningful guarantees from FIFA and national governments that players, workers, and attendees will be protected. “This World Cup is no longer the ‘medium risk’ tournament that FIFA once judged it to be—whether it is to protect people from ICE, guarantee the right to protest or prevent homelessness, urgent action is needed to make sure the reality of this World Cup matches its original promise,” Cockburn said. He added, “While FIFA generates record revenues from the 2026 World Cup, fans, communities, players, journalists and workers cannot be made to pay the price.”

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Glossary

• Authoritarian practices: actions by governments that limit freedoms and give leaders too much control.

• Border patrol: government agencies that monitor and control who enters a country.

• Deportation: forcing someone to leave a country, usually because of immigration rules.

• Discrimination: treating someone unfairly because of who they are (such as their race, gender, or identity).

• Extrajudicial killings: when people are killed by authorities without a legal trial or court process.

• FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association): the international organization that runs the World Cup.

• Freedom of expression: the right to share ideas and opinions without fear of punishment.

• Genocide: the deliberate and systematic killing or persecution of a large number of people from a particular national or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): a U.S. agency that enforces immigration laws inside the country.

• Intrusive surveillance: close or constant monitoring that invades a person’s privacy.

• LGBTQI+: a term that includes people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and others with diverse identities.

• Peaceful assembly: the right to gather in groups for protests or demonstrations without violence.

• Repression: when a government unfairly limits people’s freedoms or rights.

• Scrutiny: close and careful examination or attention.

• Security apparatus: the system of organizations and actions used to keep people safe, such as police and military.

• Surveillance: watching or monitoring people, often by governments or authorities.

• Unlawful detention: holding someone in custody without a legal reason.