The latest edition of the FIFA World Cup is being watched by billions of people across the globe not only for the football being played, but also for the various controversies surrounding the entirety of the tournament, with issues plaguing the event before it has even started. The tournament this year, being hosted across three countries: the United States, Mexico, and Canada, is the second time the World Cup is being hosted across multiple nations; the last time being in 2002, hosted across South Korea and Japan. However, current geopolitical tensions and conflicts have caused a plethora of problems for FIFA, the players, and the staff involved in the tournament.
The broader political landscape has caused a lot of geopolitical clashes with countries that are participating in the World Cup. Iran had its participation under doubt due to its current relationship with the United States amidst their recent conflicts. The refusal from FIFA to relocate all matches with Iran to Mexico did not help in ensuring participation. President Trump’s comment on how it would not be “appropriate” for the Iranian national team to attend the World Cup “for their own health and safety” caused the Iranian government to call out the United States to lose its hosting rights. The Iranian players, who have recently completed a match against New Zealand, were forced to head back to their Mexico base immediately rather than being allowed to stay in the US.
There has been a string of visa and immigration issues plaguing the players, the staff, and the fans alike. The travel ban enacted by the Trump administration has affected fans from various countries and restricted official staff from entering the United States. According to the Iranian government, around 15 Iranian officials have been refused entry to the United States, and various Iraqi and Iranian players were subjected to invasive searches at the border. Visa bonds were made necessary for fans from Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tunisia, where they were required to deposit $15,000 in order to gain a visitor visa, a requirement that was later dropped by the US government, as long as the fans had a World Cup ticket.
A case that garnered attention was that of the Somalian referee, Omar Artan, who was denied entry into the United States “due to vetting concerns”, which resulted in his denial gaining widespread media attention, resulting in him receiving a hero’s welcome back in Mogadishu. The White House has also not ruled out ICE raids during World Cup games, as the head of the White House World Cup Task Force said, “If you are a potential threat, you’re not going to get approved,” leading to speculation on possible ICE raids in the near future.
FIFA also received criticism as it introduced dynamic pricing for the first time in a World Cup, which led to the prices of the tickets surging far beyond what the average fan could afford. Tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium hit around $11,000 each, leading to criticism from US lawmakers and fan groups. FIFA has also reportedly profited from every ticket that was ever resold, with FIFA taking a 15% fee from both the seller and the buyer, with the majority of the sellers being people who have boycotted the tournament, leading FIFA to benefit from the outrage from its own controversial policies.
The newest addition to the rules has been that of “hydration breaks”, a mandatory three-minute break in each half, which were created as a respite from the growing humidity and heat that is prevalent in the United States, Mexico, and Canada around this time of the year. While this move was welcomed by some players, questions were raised about whether these hydration breaks were required in climate-controlled indoor stadiums. FIFA also used these breaks to insert more commercials and generate revenue within those three minutes. It has also raised concerns about breaking the match’s momentum, an important factor in football that is played at such a high level.
FIFA also faced difficulties in gaining broadcasters for India, as it eventually sought a $100 million bid, but received only an offer of $20 million from Disney Star, India’s largest media company. The lack of a broadcasting deal leading up to the week before the World Cup led to speculation about whether or not India would actually receive the World Cup for its audience, with concerns over the difference in time zones leading to a lack of a proper audience. However, just nine days before the World Cup, the Zee Media Group struck a last-minute $40 million deal with FIFA, finally ending the standoff over who would broadcast the World Cup in the country. However, there have been complaints from viewers about the lack of 4K in the broadcast, predatory subscription tactics, and subpar streaming quality.
This edition of the World Cup has been under tremendous media scrutiny and attention, and deservedly so, as many aspects of the handling of the World Cup have seen no transparency and a lack of accountability from both FIFA and the host country of the United States. While the games have been thrilling and entertaining, the story behind the scenes is much more filled with problems, problems that have a chance of arising and ruining the games that are being played. Fans across the globe hope that these issues will be resolved and that the World Cup will function in a smooth and civilized manner, something that is worthy of the title of the “World’s Greatest Game”.
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