Robbed and trapped on FIFA bus as clashes erupt

Robbed and – Charlotte Daly describes a chaotic first day in Mexico City for the World Cup—robbed in broad daylight, stranded on an official FIFA media bus, and caught in violent clashes outside the tournament opener as tear gas filled the air.

The World Cup is meant to look like a celebration from the moment you arrive. But on Charlotte Daly’s first day in Mexico City, the festival feeling never quite landed. Before a ball was even kicked. she was robbed. stranded on an official FIFA media bus that could not reach the stadium. and swept into violent clashes outside the tournament opener—tear gas and smoke turning parts of the day into something else entirely.

It began the night before the match. Daly was in the middle of changing hotels—an easy walk of no more than four minutes. The streets were busy. and when she noticed a few people who seemed suspicious. she moved her phone. bank cards. and valuables into her rucksack. Minutes later, they were gone. She says she was robbed in broad daylight and that no one did anything to help. By the time the morning came. she was cancelling cards. making police reports. and trying to regain access to her accounts while working out how to do her job for the opening week without her phone.

After a frantic morning of replacing devices and regaining access, Daly believed the worst was over. It wasn’t.

Getting to the stadium became its own ordeal. Journalists had been told FIFA shuttle buses would transport media from hotels to the venue. but when reporters began asking for details. nobody seemed to know where the buses were. when they would arrive. or even where they would depart from. Eventually, around 100 journalists formed a queue after hearing a bus was on its way.

When the transport finally arrived, the problems continued. Despite travelling on an official FIFA media bus, Daly says they were repeatedly denied access through police checkpoints. Several routes were closed. At one stage. the bus pulled over while officials stood on the roadside making phone calls trying to figure out how to get the group to the ground. A colleague who ignored the official transport and took an Uber arrived in around 40 minutes. Daly’s journey took over two hours, before she could finally reach the venue.

Outside, tensions had been building long before kick-off. Protesters had gathered outside the stadium throughout the day. Some were drawing attention to Mexico’s 133,000 missing persons crisis. Others were teachers protesting over pay, pensions, and working conditions. For hours, the demonstrations remained peaceful.

Then, with just 10 minutes until kick-off, the calm snapped. Hundreds of protesters surged towards the stadium’s southwest perimeter in an attempt to breach security barriers protecting the inner ring. Rocks were thrown. Flares lit up the sky. Riot police rushed to stop the crowd reaching the stadium. Tear gas soon filled the air.

Mounted officers rode through burning fires as clashes intensified outside the ground. Protesters and police exchanged projectiles. Spectators arriving for the match found themselves caught in scenes of confusion and disorder. Daly reports that one female police officer was evacuated on the back of a motorcycle after suffering a serious head injury. and that a colleague of hers was also hurt amid the disorder.

For a brief period, Daly writes, football—the reason everyone had come—became secondary.

Inside the Estadio Azteca, the match still went ahead. Mexico went on to defeat South Africa 2-0 in the curtain-raiser. Daly says the festivities continued long after that result. but for many arriving on opening day. the first view of the World Cup was not the spectacle—it was smoke. violence. and unrest.

When Daly finally sat down to watch the game, she described the whole day as almost surreal. Twenty-four hours earlier she had expected football. Instead. she says she had a stolen phone. faced transport chaos. and watched violent clashes unfold outside the gates of the World Cup—before the tournament had properly started.

She added that she understands her position. Covering the biggest sporting event on the planet is a privilege, and one that doesn’t escape her. Still, after her first 24 hours in Mexico, she says she feels as if she has packed an entire tournament’s worth of drama into a single day.

World Cup Mexico City Estadio Azteca Charlotte Daly robbed FIFA media bus tear gas protesters missing persons crisis South Africa Mexico 2-0