With lower than a yr to go until the 2026 World Cup, political tensions and U.S. policy threaten to pose problems as Canada, the USA and Mexico prepare to co-host the tournament.
Next yr’s FIFA World Cup will probably be the largest ever, with the three countries hosting a record 48 teams. Between June 11 and July 19, they are going to play 104 matches, most of them within the U.S.
With hundreds of thousands of fans expected to cross borders to attend the games, U.S. President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration policies — which include travel bans on some countries, immigration raids and mass deportations — are generating anxiety.
“That is all being driven by the USA. And we’re entirely the guilty party here,” said Victor Matheson, a professor at College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts who makes a speciality of sports economics.
“You would have significant immigration problems with fans and players going across borders.”
The U.S. has travel bans in place for 12 countries and restrictions in place for seven, and is considering banning travellers from one other 36 countries.
Though there are exemptions for athletes, staff and families, the unpredictability of Trump’s administration means nobody knows for certain what type of rules may be in place by the point the tournament starts.
Economist Andrew Zimbalist, who wrote a book on the economics of hosting the World Cup, said Trump has the flexibility to make it difficult for people to travel, however it’s not clear whether he’ll actually achieve this.
“I feel probably Trump himself won’t have the answers because … he responds very impetuously to changes in his environment,” he said.
Concerns about visas or political opposition to Trump might lead some soccer fans to choose to not attend in any respect, while others opt to attend the games in Canada as an alternative, Zimbalist suggested. But he also identified that the quarter, semifinals and final are all going down within the U.S.
A spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said Canada could see 1,000,000 international visitors through the tournament.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and world wide, join for breaking news alerts delivered on to you once they occur.
“Given the tri-national nature of the event, it’s anticipated that international and domestic travellers will move forwards and backwards between Canada and the USA. The main focus will proceed to be on the flow of movement, the security of travellers and the safety of the borders,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency said the agency is working closely with federal government departments, host cities and FIFA “in the security and security planning for this international event.”
Matheson said fans — particularly those from countries which have found themselves in Trump’s crosshairs — have good reasons to be apprehensive.
“I could be very concerned about planning a vacation that has you travelling from Mexico or from Canada into the USA and back. I don’t think you could guarantee that vacation of a lifetime is definitely going to be there for you to really take,” he said.
He said it’s one thing to be denied entry, one other to find yourself in jail and deported — potentially to a jail in El Salvador.
“No one desires to go to the World Cup to observe some soccer games after which find yourself in jail,” he said.
Trump’s moves to impose tariffs on much of the world, including Canada, could also affect the World Cup.
Matheson offered the instance of somebody who makes jerseys for a rustic’s team who would need to ship those jerseys across the border with the team.
“Tariffs make that kind of inventory management pretty difficult,” he said.
Tim Elcombe is a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University whose areas of experience include sports, politics and international affairs. He said “there was a way that having the event in Canada, the USA and Mexico would almost be a little bit of a chilled of the political waters,” because the cup returned to Western countries.
As a substitute, he said, the 2026 tournament could also be much more politically charged than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Canada is co-hosting considered one of world’s biggest sporting events with a rustic whose president has instigated a trade war and threatened annexation. Canadians have cut travel to the U.S. and stopped buying American products — and it’s not clear what all of which may mean for the World Cup.
While Vancouver and Toronto will host some games, “really that is an American-centric competition,” Elcombe said.
“So how will Canadians feel about this? Will we get behind it? Will it change into the event I feel they were hoping it might be?”
In early July, labour and human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to say U.S. policies under Trump pose a “serious threat” to individuals, especially non-citizens.
The letter accused FIFA of ignoring “the clear evidence of the numerous deterioration of the rights climate in the USA.”
Elcombe said while the USA is more likely to take the brunt of scrutiny, Canada just isn’t immune.
“Canada goes to should be prepared for a really critical eye when it comes to give attention to among the issues in Canada from a human rights perspective, because I feel they will probably be exposed,” he said, citing Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples as one example.
MacIntosh Ross, a fellow on the Scott McCain and Leslie McLean Centre for Sport, Business and Health at Saint Mary’s University, said Canada should put pressure on the U.S. government “to make certain that things occur in a protected or as protected a fashion as possible.”
“The Canadian organizers and the Canadian government should be very clear about their expectations for his or her partners on this World Cup and reiterate them and state them over and yet again,” he said.
Elcombe noted Infantino, who has “very much established himself as a friend and supporter of President Trump,” could possibly be a key player in determining how the approaching months unfold.
It’s difficult to predict what Trump might do, Zimbalist said. If there are political issues in the USA that he desires to distract people from, “you possibly can see him doing crazier and crazier things internationally to get people’s minds off of what’s actually happening.”
But Trump also has shown that he cares in regards to the World Cup and searching good as he hosts the tournament.
“I feel he does care about image and he does care about being on the world stage,” Zimbalist said. “So I can see that being a major deterrent, actually.”