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The FIFA 2026 World Cup: Sportwashing the crimes of western imperialism

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The upcoming FIFA 2026 World Cup, held across North America, is already beset by controversy, from the hypocrisy of Trump being handed a ‘FIFA peace prize’, to price-gouging and environmental concerns. Plus: five years since the ‘Super League’ protests.

At the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup last December, President Trump was awarded the very-first “FIFA Peace Prize”.

The international football body – who basically invented the award to suck up to Trump – said the prize is awarded to a person who has “taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace” and “united people across the world”. The irony was lost on no one.

After being handed the award by the FIFA president Gianni Infantino – who some dub ‘the most corrupt man in football’ – Trump gave a lengthy speech claiming to have saved “tens of millions of lives” and that he has “stopped wars happening just before they started”.

 

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Fast forward five months, and it would be almost impossible to name someone less worthy of the ‘Peace Prize’ than Trump.

Since the draw, his regime has kidnapped the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro; expanded the blockade of Cuba in an attempt to strangle the Cuban Revolution; threatened to invade and annex Greenland; allowed ICE thugs to run raids across the nation, resulting in the murders of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti; and, of course, most recently started a bloody bombing against Iran, unleashing conflict across the Middle East.

Various other controversial issues have also been raised surrounding the event, besides the political machinations of the Trump regime.

Fan groups have complained about price gouging, with the cost of group game tickets more than doubling, while the cheapest tickets to the final are estimated to be as high as £3,119, compared to £450 in the previous tournament in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the cost of a return train from Manhattan to MetLife Stadium has risen from £9.50 to £111 during the tournament, and tickets to games in Boston have risen from £15 to £60.

Then there are the environmental and health concerns. With the tournament taking place across Canada, the US, and Mexico, teams face an average travel distance of 5,146 miles, with many host cities predicted to experience extreme heat during the games.

It can hardly be considered ‘green’ or ‘environmentally-focused’ to have players, staff, and fans travel these distances in a short period. Players will hardly be at peak performance after such strenuous logistical demands.

Bringing the world together?

We are often told that international sporting events are meant to ‘bring the world together’ and promote peace. So one would therefore think that the actions of Trump’s regime, alongside these other issues, would be enough to call into question the suitability of the US as host.

But there has been no such call by any world political or sporting leaders. In fact, US special envoy Paolo Zampolli has even recommended that the Iranian team be removed as participants and replaced by Italy – who failed to qualify for the tournament – due to security issues that Iranian players and officials may face if they attend.

This highlights the utter hypocrisy of international organisations – such as FIFA – who immediately banned Russian and Belarussian athletes after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, but meanwhile have nothing to say about Israel’s genocide in Gaza or the continued bloodshed carried out by the US regime.

This also exposes the lie that sport tournaments like the World Cup – alongside cultural events like Eurovision – are ‘outside of politics” and should just be celebrations of peace, love, togetherness and humanity – or whatever nonsense slogans these organisations produce to avoid taking a political stance that goes against the interests of western imperialism.

These corrupt, profiteering bodies will happily carry water for countries like the US, regardless of their crimes and bloodshed, in order to maintain the image of a liberal world order.

This, yet again, shows the farce that is the ‘rules-based order’, and how the western imperialist powers can continue to terrorise and exploit millions across the globe with no accountability or consequence.

Five years since the ‘Super League’ protests – Kick capitalism out of football!

Aidan Butler, Newcastle

Last week saw the five year anniversary of the European Super League protests, which rocked the football world back in 2021.

The life of a football supporter can sometimes be a divisive one. Leeds and Manchester United fans refer to one another as ‘scum’. The ‘Old Firm’ derby between Celtic and Rangers is rooted in religious sectarianism. And in 2019 Red Star Belgrade provocatively parked a tank outside their stadium in a display of ‘strength’ against their Croatian rivals.

Yet despite all of this, in 2021 football rivalries were broken down for a brief moment across Europe. Fans joined hands across the London rivalries, Manchester City and Manchester United fans joined with Liverpool supporters – all in a unified protest against the proposed ‘Super League’.

The Super League was a profit-hungry attempt to steal what little control ordinary football fans had over the ‘people’s game’. Wealthy clubs across Europe secretly colluded to withdraw from their respective domestic associations in pursuit of greater revenue in a closed-shop competition.

This capitalist culture heist failed, however, largely thanks to the grassroots protests of football supporters.

We are often told that the British working class is too docile to protest – if only we could be like the French! – and that football fans in particular are backwards and ignorant. But when the football execs and businessmen flew too close to the sun, these illusions were disproven.

The Super League outcry showed how deep divides can be broken down in favour of unity. It may seem silly to those of you who do not care for football, but the divide between rivals in football can often seem impossible to broach. Ironically, it was the capitalists and their hubris that united fans and gave a glimpse at how we can overcome their system.

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