Protect your fans: Advocates call for FIFA to keep ICE away from World Cup games NBC 6 South Florida

ICE has increased its presence in Atlanta, and a new ICE detention center is slated for construction and operation in Social Circle, Georgia, about 45 miles east of Atlanta. Eight matches will be played in Atlanta beginning in June, including five group stage matches and three from later in the tournament. A World Cup perceived as a venue for repression could tarnish not only the image of the tournament but also that of the host nation.
Canadian outlet National Observer report that an agreement between FIFA and Vancouver contains a clause that requires the host city to cooperate with the host country’s police betista casino and military forces to provide security. The Miami-Dade County Sheriff said two weeks ago they would not be doing immigration enforcement during the World Cup and that their only role would be focused on safety and security. “The World Cup is a global event. If FIFA does not act now, the world will remember Miami not for the game-winning goals, but for raids, fear and family separation.” Questions were raised about ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents at World Cup games earlier this month when the Club World Cup kicked off at Hard Rock Stadium.
The United States has faced criticism over its military action in Venezuela, while Trump’s threats against Iran and Greenland have also received international condemnation. In just over four months’ time, the United States, Canada and Mexico will jointly host the greatest competition in world football, with 48 nations taking part in a newly-expanded format. A little-known FIFA contract clause could prevent ICE from being deployed at some games during the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
Calls for boycotts have also come from UK MPs (in non-binding motions), German soccer figures, and human rights advocates, who argue the tournament’s unifying spirit is undermined. Blatter endorsed warnings from anti-corruption experts who described the US as too dangerous for visitors amid domestic uproar and immigration crackdowns. Force majeure clauses in such contracts typically cover uncontrollable events like natural disasters, wars, riots, sanctions, or other disruptions beyond the parties’ control. Speaking in an interview with SPORTbible, a Professor of Sports Law at the University of Melbourne claimed it was ‘unlikely’ FIFA will exercise their termination clause, but it could happen in ‘an extreme turn of events’.

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Miami is one of 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will be hosting the soccer World Cup in June and July of next year. “We want the games to be safe, to be welcoming, we want the games to be a point of pride to our city, not another global embarrassment,” Thomas Kennedy said. People in this country do seem to be waking up to what we have become—now international sports federations need to do the same.
“As Atlanta steps onto the global stage, we are focused on making sure our entrepreneurs have access to the tools, information, and partnerships they need to succeed, during these major events and well beyond them.” On Feb. 3, Dickens and the City of Atlanta announced coordinated resources for small businesses to help during “major global events,” notably the World Cup. But this summer, millions of people from around the world will be coming to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and many have raised concerns about ICE presence at matches in U.S. cities. The spotlight is on the United States as tensions continue to rise over immigration enforcement operations.
The activists directly urged FIFA to take a stand on these concerns, arguing that its international reputation is at stake. A general exterior view of the signage at Levi’s Stadium, host venue for the FIFA World Cup 2026 The situation underscores the intersection of geopolitics and global sport, where FIFA’s contractual flexibility could become a focal point if tensions escalate further. Shifting games to Canada or Mexico would disrupt logistics, scheduling, and preparations.
Although force majeure clauses exist in contracts for major sporting events, there is currently no indication that FIFA plans to strip the United States of its 2026 World Cup hosting rights. “It is unlikely that FIFA — the organization that awarded its first global peace prize to Trump — would strip the US of its hosting rights. If invoked, FIFA and the host country could legally terminate or modify the hosting agreement, including relocating matches. The US ceded its position as top destination for global travel in 2018, halfway through Trump 1.0, sliding behind countries like France and Spain in terms of international visitors. Countless soccer fans across the globe are planning on entering the United States in droves for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by North America, with games being staged in Mexico, Canada, and primarily the United States.

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The task force is housed in the Department of Homeland Security, with Trump serving as the chair (and Vice President JD Vance as vice chair), presumably during his time off from running the Kennedy Center and tanking the economy. The US’s “market share” of global travel has shriveled, falling from 12.8 percent in 2015 to 9.1 percent today. And what about those from the 43 countries on Trump’s draft list of travel-banned nations?
Self-interest alone should keep countries away from the United States like the plague. Starting now, we need to push international sports federations to put in writing how their politics and policies will change to ensure the safety of not only tourists, but the players, coaches, and their families. For many globe-trotting soccer fans, the chickens have now come home to roost. Some respond to this blithely by pointing out that FIFA stages the World Cup in autocratic countries all the time. Given that ICE is being used as a masked abduction force, and given “border czar” Tom Homan’s contempt for the courts, it is unconscionable to encourage people to visit this country.
During a press conference held outside FIFA’s offices in Miami, spokespersons for several non-governmental organizations demanded guarantees of an environment free from immigration enforcement operations during the tournament. Activists are pressuring FIFA to ensure the 2026 World Cup remains free from immigration enforcement operations that could intimidate immigrant fans Despite this, it is unlikely that this will happen, given the US’s influence in international sports and the fact that it is a co-host country. FIFA could have the ability to revoke the United States of its hosting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup if a little-known contract clause is invoked.

• Sports law professor Jack Anderson from the University of Melbourne has described the prospect of FIFA fully stripping the US of hosting rights as “unlikely,” stating it would demand “an extreme turn of events.” He emphasized FIFA’s close ties with the current US administration—including the awarding of a “global peace prize” to President Trump—as a factor making drastic action improbable.
• A World Cup perceived as a venue for repression could tarnish not only the image of the tournament but also that of the host nation.
• “Fans come to watch soccer stars, not to run into ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” declared one spokesperson, making an ironic reference to the immigration detention center in the Everglades, which remains heavily criticized by human rights groups.
• The US hosts the majority of matches (including the final) across 11 cities, with massive economic stakes—billions in revenue for FIFA, cities, and sponsors.
• FIFA could have the ability to revoke the United States of its hosting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup if a little-known contract clause is invoked.
• Preparations are already underway, with organizers establishing infrastructure and logistics in the host cities.

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Force majeure is defined as ‘a contractual clause that frees parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary, uncontrollable event—such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or “act of God” (natural disaster) – prevents them from fulfilling contract terms’. According to the 2026 World Cup rulebook, FIFA have the right to ‘cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.’ Due to a contract clause, it’s possible they could lose those rights if FIFA deem the situation to be serious enough. Not only were there conversations around potential boycotts, but a group of United Kingdom MPs called for the US to be kicked out of the World Cup, which they are set to host alongside Canada and Mexico.
“We are literally vested and invested in this event, and FIFA is an international organization and international community holding an international event,” Billy Corben said. “We don’t want for people to be sitting at these games and watching family be separated, wondering whether or not ICE is gonna come to their seat in the stands and ask them for their papers.” “We want people to feel safe going to their games,” Yareliz Mendez-Zamora said. The arbitrary arrests and killings committed by agents of Trump’s authoritarian-style rule differ only in number, not in kind, from those in Iran. Attend matches in Mexico and Canada instead, and send the message that you refuse to support neofascist sportswashing.
Now, imagine what could happen to fans from the Middle East. The price for wanting to visit the US has meant having your electronics searched, your politics interrogated, or getting strip-searched and left naked in a back room at Logan Airport. But as we’ve seen recently, the treatment of people as they are entering this country has borne more resemblance to airports in Tel Aviv or Pinochet’s Chile than those in a democratic country.

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The country has proven itself incapable of not abducting and imprisoning people entering it—boycotting US matches avoids putting teams, their families, and fans in danger. We want World Cup events to be held in Miami, but we also want Miami-Dade and FIFA officials to speak out and defend fans when ICE/CBP are quoted saying fans should bring proof of legal status to the games. Méndez also called on Miami-Dade authorities to withdraw from newly approved 287(g) agreements, which allow local police to collaborate with federal immigration enforcement. Yareliz Méndez, policy coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), was emphatic in calling on Miami’s local government to end any cooperation with immigration authorities in the context of sporting events.

• If we continue acting like a pariah nation and a rogue state, then the rest of the world should act accordingly by boycotting World Cup matches taking place in the US.
• In just over four months’ time, the United States, Canada and Mexico will jointly host the greatest competition in world football, with 48 nations taking part in a newly-expanded format.
• “It is unlikely that FIFA — the organization that awarded its first global peace prize to Trump — would strip the US of its hosting rights.
• Despite this, it is unlikely that this will happen, given the US’s influence in international sports and the fact that it is a co-host country.
• There is still a possibility that FIFA could strip the United States of America of the privilege of hosting this summer’s World Cup due to Donald Trump’s actions.

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If we continue acting like a pariah nation and a rogue state, then the rest of the world should act accordingly by boycotting World Cup matches taking place in the US. The very real fear is that their compatriots’ identification cards could be seized, and they could end up, without a trial, in some grim ICE gulag in perpetuity. Leaders from these countries realize that they can no longer guarantee the safety of their citizens, should they attempt to enter the United States. It’s no wonder that Canada, alongside numerous European countries, have issued travel advisories for the United States.

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Trump recently stoked tensions around ICE on Wednesday, threatening five more unnamed US cities with the deployment of agents. It is believed that Canada’s other host city Toronto has an identical agreement with FIFA as Vancouver. However, the provision only applies to Canadian police and defence forces, not those of the US or Mexico. However, a FIFA contract clause could prevent ICE agents from being deployed in neighbouring Canada and Mexico during the World Cup. The US Department of Homeland Security has previously stated the purpose of ICE agents at the 2026 Olympics is to “vet and mitigate risks from transnational criminal organisations” as well provide security for US officials. Now, Canadian officials are pushing to ban ICE from local World Cup events later this year.