World Cup 2026: Does Football Really Unite the World?
Introduction
This year’s FIFA World Cup slogan is “Football unites the World”; however, the current state of the tournament is having the opposite effect. The FIFA World Cup is the world’s biggest sporting event, bringing thousands of people across the globe to celebrate and support their nation’s participation in the world’s game. This year’s tournament is producing a starkly different sentiment. Issues surrounding Iran and their qualification, human rights contentions and pricing out fans have eclipsed the core principles of the tournament, as football has always been a sport for all.
At war off the pitch
The ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States has spilled over into the world of sport. Having secured qualification for the World Cup back in March 2025, the participation of Iran at this year’s tournament has been questioned. The US special envoy, Paolo Zampolli has even suggested to Trump that Iran should be replaced by Italy,[1] on the basis that some of the Iranian players’ guests have ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Italian officials have regarded the suggestion as “shameful” and “inappropriate.”[2]
The Iranian Football Federation has requested their fixtures to be moved to Mexico in response to threats of player safety. FIFA has rejected their request, with Gianni Infantino stating, “Iran has to come.”[3] It appears rather contradictory from FIFA’s president, who maintains a close relationship with Trump’s office.
Per Article 6.7 of the FIFA World Cup 26 Regulations, FIFA has “sole discretion” on the procedure if a team should withdraw or be excluded from competition.[4] Article 6 also states, “FIFA may decide to replace the participating Member Association with another association.”[5] Though these clauses exist, there is no precedent of teams being excluded or replaced from the FIFA World Cup. Iran will likely compete in the competition, unless Trump were to take such dramatic measures in explicitly banning the squad from entering the country.
Human Rights
Gianni Infantino, the current president of FIFA, has been cozying up with Donald Trump since the tournament’s announcement. Infantino has even awarded Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize for his efforts to promote global peace.[6] A particular aspect of their relationship has been FIFA’s response to alleged human rights issues.
FIFA’s human rights approach was to “create new benchmarks, while leaving a positive legacy in the host countries.”[7] Yet, when an eighth of the World’s population faces additional barriers to watching the World Cup live,[8] it is difficult to reconcile FIFA’s strategy with the anticipated treatment of tourists when the tournament kicks off.
Currently, Amnesty International and U.S. civil and human rights groups have issued a “World Cup travel advisory”, based on Trump’s ‘authoritarian’ approach to immigration.[9] Amnesty International claims individuals may be subject to arbitrary denial of entry, expanded restrictions on travel into the US and unconstitutional immigration enforcement.[10] These human rights groups are issuing these warnings on the basis of the current treatment of foreign citizens in the US, and it remains difficult to predict when the tournament kicks off, whether these violations will continue.
Money, Money, Money
The costs of this year’s World Cup completely oppose what football is all about – access for all. Complaints have already started flooding in regarding the pricing out of fans, many of whom dream of watching the World Cup live. Euroconsumers and Football Supporters Group Europe have accused FIFA of monopolising tickets, pricing out thousands of fans, contending FIFA has breached Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.[11] Dynamic pricing has also been introduced, and given that above-value ticket reselling is legal in the United States, FIFA is clearly treating tickets as “tradable assets.”[12] To evidence the astronomical price increase, the most expensive ticket at the Qatar World Cup Final in 2022 was priced at (USD) $1,604, while this year’s most expensive final ticket sits at approximately $11,000.[13] This is all rather hypocritical from FIFA, after Infantino in 2017 said the expansion from 32 to 48 teams was to make the tournament more inclusive.[14] Pricing out thousands of fans can hardly be considered as inclusive. This will likely be the decisive factor for most fans if they are going to attend the tournament or not.
Conclusion
These issues have dampened much of the excitement of the fans wishing to travel to the US for the tournament. Football has always been an accessible sport, considered as the “working-class” game. This year’s World Cup represents the greatest departure yet from football’s roots. Nonetheless, the magic shown by the world’s best should remain on show, and hopefully our Socceroos can demonstrate they belong alongside some of the world’s best.
References
[1] https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cy813gy08v2o
[2] Ibid
[3] https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/4/16/iran-has-to-come-to-the-us-for-the-world-cup-fifas-infantino-says
[4] Article 6.7, Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026, March 2026
[5] Article 6, Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026, March 2026
[6] https://inside.fifa.com/campaigns/football-unites-the-world/news/president-trump-peace-prize-football-unites-the-world
[7] https://inside.fifa.com/tournament-organisation/world-cup-2026-sustainability-strategy/strategy
[8] https://lsj.com.au/articles/fifa-mired-in-peace-prize-human-rights-controversy-leading-up-to-world-cup-2026/
[9] https://www.amnestyusa.org/blog/2026-world-cup-travel-advisory/
[10] Ibid.
[11] Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - PART THREE: UNION POLICIES AND INTERNAL ACTIONS - TITLE VII: COMMON RULES ON COMPETITION, TAXATION AND APPROXIMATION OF LAWS - Chapter 1: Rules on competition - Section 1: Rules applying to undertakings - Article 102 (ex Article 82 TEC)
[12] https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/4/27/fifa-world-cup-2026-dynamic-pricing-match-tickets-peter-moore
[13] https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/4/23/why-are-fifa-world-cup-2026-tickets-so-expensive
[14] https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38565246