World Cup 2026: Tournament kicks off under shadow of politics and restrictions
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Shaheryar Mirza
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Thu, 06/11/2026 - 14:33
As this year's edition of the global competition gets underway, it is rife with barriers to entry and fears that fans will have to worry about more than team's performances
People walk past a mural with political messages ahead of the match in Mexico City, Mexico, on 10 June 2026 (Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)
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The world's most prestigious sporting event kicks off on Thursday, but for many it's a moment where the beautiful game meets the ugly realities of visa restrictions, price gouging and political interference.
The first match of the tournament will take place between host country Mexico and 2010 host South Africa, followed by South Korea taking on Czechia.
The Canada-US leg of the tournament starts on Friday afternoon, with Canada facing Bosnia and Herzegovina and the US taking on Paraguay later in the evening.
The US will host 78 out of 104 matches, with Canada and Mexico allotted 15 each.
Despite Mexico's smaller footprint during the tournament, its opening ceremony could not escape the politicised landscape, with thousands of protesters descending on the Estadio Ciudad de Mexico ahead of the opening match.
But it's the Trump administration that has garnered the most attention for World Cup-related scandals ahead of the tournament.
Barriers to entry
Over the weekend, just days before the opening of the tournament, the US followed through on its threats to extensively vet anyone travelling to the country for the World Cup by barring entry for a Somali referee for “association with suspected members of terror organizations”.
The US is currently enforcing a near-total travel ban on Somalia.
Omar Artan, one of the 52 referees selected to officiate the tournament, was stopped at Miami International Airport during what US Customs and Border Protection called a "routine" inspection and was denied entry despite having a visa.
The New York Times reported that Artan was subjected to an 11-hour interview during which he provided Fifa documentation and a host of supporting paperwork.
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He was detained for several hours, then sent back to Istanbul before flying back to Somalia. Artan would have been the first Somali to referee a World Cup match, and had been named referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football in 2025.
But the time that Artan spent in detention will likely be longer than the time allotted to the Iranian team before and after any matches it plays on US soil.
Ahead of the tournament and amid security concerns linked to the US-Israeli-led war on Iran, Tehran requested its fixtures be moved to Mexico. This request was initially denied.
Later, the Iranian football team was permitted to relocate its base to Mexico, but was informed it would need to enter and leave the US on the same day as each of its fixtures, leaving it at a disadvantage for matchday preparation. Several members of its support staff were not granted visas.
US officials reportedly said that Iran would not be allowed to "abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretences".
Like Somalia, Iran is also subject to a near-total entry ban by the Trump administration.
But it isn't just countries that are political lightning rods in the US that have fallen victim. The Senegalese and Uzbek national teams were also both subjected to heightened security measures upon their arrival in the US.
According to reports, Senegal’s players underwent extensive baggage inspections on the airport tarmac, while the Uzbek team was greeted at its training venue by drug-sniffing dogs and security screenings.
Senegal is under a partial travel ban to the US.
An Iraqi player was also detained at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and the Iraqi team’s photographer was denied entry to the country.
US President Donald Trump said visa disputes for World Cup attendees were being reviewed. "We’re working on it very closely to make sure the right people come into our country," he said on Wednesday.
On the opening day of the World Cup, Trump, the "Fifa Peace Prize" recipient, also announced that the US was going to bomb Iran and invade its territory.
Soaring ticket prices
A large majority of football fans could very well end up being priced out of this World Cup in the US if they aren't able to secure a ticket through Fifa's own lottery system or any local lotteries organised to offer affordable tickets.
The 2026 edition of the tournament will, for the first time, allow "dynamic pricing", which translates to real-time pricing according to demand, dictated by the algorithms of ticket sales platforms.
At the time of writing, the lowest ticket price for the opening match in Los Angeles stands at an eye-watering $1,183, while the second match in the US, Qatar versus Switzerland, currently has a get-in price of around $614.
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While World Cup fever on the East Coast has been overshadowed by Knicks delirium, with New York's basketball team on the cusp of winning its first NBA championship in half a century, prices still haven't dropped to where fans might want them to be.
The first match on the East Coast, in New Jersey, also happens to be between two top-10-ranked teams, Brazil and Morocco, with the cheapest seat available at the time of writing selling for $1,633. You can get into the low-demand match of Haiti-Scotland in Massachusetts during opening weekend on Saturday for just under $650.
While prior World Cups hosted in South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and Qatar offered subsidised ticket rates for local residents, there has been no federal equivalent for this year's event.
Ticket prices in the US are generally the highest, but CNN reported that prices for the tournament opener in Mexico during the second round of sales in April 2026 ranged from $3,000 to $10,000.
There have been some price reductions closer to match day, but the ticket pricing is volatile with ebbs and flows, and prices still haven't reached what your average fan might consider affordable.
The Athletic, one of the premier sports outlets in the US, concluded that the tournament's ticket prices were a "rip-off".
Fearful fans
With teams and officials facing obstacles getting into the country, many fans are also fearful that attempts to watch their favourite teams will be rife with barriers.
Fans who have managed to splurge on tickets will find that the US maintains one of the strictest visa regimes in the world.
Visitors from the Global South are expected to disclose extensive financial records, employment histories, and details of their next of kin, and are required to attend in-person interviews and pay extortionate fees just for the chance to apply.
There is now also an added layer of social media vetting of applicants for non-immigrant visas, purportedly to screen for threats to national security. But many accuse the government of using it as a vehicle to filter out those with political views the Trump administration disagrees with.
'We don't want them': countries facing travel ban to US
»
While Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 both implemented special entry systems for ticket holders, the US created new hurdles for fans worldwide, especially those from poorer countries.
In December 2025, Trump placed 39 nations, including four countries participating in the tournament, on a travel ban.
Haiti and Iran were placed on a full travel ban, while Senegal and the Ivory Coast were placed on a partial travel ban.
The US government also imposed a visa bond on travellers from 50 countries, requiring them to pay a deposit of $5,000 to $15,000 to the State Department before obtaining a US visa.
In mid-May, Washington exempted ticket-holders from countries participating in the tournament from paying the bond.
This applies to Algeria, Cape Verde, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia. Reuters reported that qualifying team members and staff could also have their bonds waived.
The restrictions and double standards, activists say, have not just gone unopposed by Fifa, the world body has, in effect, reinforced them.
Even a Fifa that offers "a once-in-a-lifetime FIFA World Cup 2026 Final experience", with tickets and accommodation, excludes most of the globe.
Only legal residents from 16 countries can enter that competition. Even Mexicans, whose country is a tournament host, aren't eligible to apply.
The elephant in the room: ICE
So far, the US government has refused to provide guarantees that non-US citizens will be safe from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at stadiums.
"The one thing [is], I've known the president for 25 years. The president does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer," Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force on the Fifa World Cup 2026, told the press in December 2025.
At a Fifa Club World Cup game in New Jersey in July 2025, a father of two young children was arrested by ICE.
The atmosphere in the US has become so tense that activists have warned that even valid visa holders may still face detention, invasive questioning, or aggressive immigration enforcement upon entering the US.
Fifa drops Somali referee from World Cup after US denies entry
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In late April, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) put out a travel advisory warning foreigners of the risks of visiting the US - including the possibility of arbitrary detention and deportation; invasive social media screening and racial profiling; freedom of speech suppression; surveillance; and even risk of inhumane treatment or death in detention facilities.
While the ACLU is concerned about how visitors may be treated, it is also worried about the rights of people already in the US, many of whom are protesting against Trump's policies.
In late May, workers at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where several World Cup matches are scheduled to take place, demanded that ICE play no role in the tournament.
Workers have expressed concern that Fifa would be sharing their information and data with ICE and foreign countries’ intelligence agencies.
"We cannot celebrate the World Cup while workers, tourists, immigrant families, and local communities are made to feel unsafe. Los Angeles should be a city of welcome - not fear,” Yolanda Fierro, a worker at the stadium and member of the Unite Here Local 11 trade union, said in a statement to Middle East Eye for a previous article.
Advocates and activists say they aren't calling for foreigners to stay away or boycott the tournament.
"It is a call for precaution - for awareness of risks, for preparation, and for safety planning," Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's human rights programme, said.
World Cup 2026
World Cup 2026 kicks off under the shadow of politics and restrictions
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