As the 2026 World Cup nears, activists in multiple host cities target FIFA and local policies over immigration enforcement, incarceration, and inequality.
World Cup fever is building across the United States. but in several host cities the tournament is arriving with a fight over who it benefits—an argument that activists say is at the heart of “Soccer Belongs to the People.” With matches fast approaching. community groups tied to labor. housing. immigration rights. and criminal justice reform are organizing to press FIFA and local officials to stop what they describe as price gouging and deepen concern over rising inequality.
The pressure is sharpening against multiple fronts: in New Jersey. organizers point to transportation and parking charges that they call exorbitant for fans looking to get to matches; across communities in Miami. Kansas City. Los Angeles. and Atlanta. activists are also staging actions meant to draw attention to policies they say will disproportionately affect immigrants. unhoused people. and other marginalized residents.. Their message is consistent—support the tournament. they argue. but ensure the World Cup does not come at the expense of the very communities that live where games are being played.
Those calls land amid a backdrop of longstanding controversy around FIFA itself.. The article notes a series of past scandals. including allegations that a World Cup match was fixed in Argentina in 1978. vote-rigging that elevated Sepp Blatter to the FIFA presidency in 2018. and reports that Qatar made payments to FIFA officials as it sought the 2022 hosting rights.. In a quoted assessment. the piece describes FIFA as a deeply corrupt and undemocratic force. citing a criticism that frames the organization as both immoral and hostile to democratic norms.
FIFA’s newest flashpoint is its decision to award the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize.. The report says the prize was granted on December 5. 2025. to President Donald Trump for efforts described by FIFA leadership as promoting peace and unity. and that FIFA responded to criticism by saying it still “strongly” supported the decision.. Activists and commentators cited in the article argue that the concept of Trump as a “peace president” is increasingly difficult to square with the administration’s broader record.
While FIFA and city boosters pursue a chance to capitalize on the World Cup. the report describes a counter-movement on the ground: union members. abolitionists. and immigrant rights activists working together to push the tournament toward what they view as a more accountable and socially beneficial role.
In Miami, the stakes are framed around immigration enforcement and the state’s approach to it.. Florida is described as being at the forefront of the administration’s immigration crackdown. and the article points to the presence of a large network of local and state agencies empowered to carry out immigration enforcement.. With the World Cup arriving in a city expecting tens of thousands of international visitors and Cristiano Ronaldo scheduled to play there—possibly during what fans expect could be the later phase of his career—human rights groups argue the environment is not safe for travelers.
A coalition of human rights organizations has issued a travel advisory warning visitors that Florida is no longer a safe destination for international tourists.. The advisory. as presented in the report. warns of risks including racial profiling. wrongful detention in inhumane conditions without consular access. and severe human rights violations regardless of legal travel status.. A policy coordinator with a group in the coalition says Florida’s enforcement posture may make games there especially dangerous compared with matches in California. New York. and New Jersey. adding that there have been stories of tourists with valid visas being swept up in enforcement activity.
Miami-area protesters have carried those concerns directly to FIFA’s doorstep.. The report says the Florida Immigrant Coalition demonstrated outside FIFA offices in Coral Gables. urging FIFA to block federal agents from entering matches.. It also cites a prior episode in Los Angeles: the account says DHS agents were denied access to a parking lot at Dodger Stadium. used by Miami organizers as an example of what they want to replicate.
In Kansas City. the fight takes a different but related shape—construction plans for what activists call a “World Cup jail.” The article says a new jail is being built in Kansas City. Missouri. and that city officials argue it is needed to promote public safety for the tournament.. But abolitionist organizers. including the group Decarcerate KC. are leading a coalition and calling the project unnecessary for public safety while arguing it will reshape enforcement during the games.
The report details the city’s timeline and scale.. It says the City Council approved in November 2025 a $25 million plan for a jail designed to be turnkey-ready by June when the World Cup begins.. Kansas City currently uses nearby county jails, and officials have said there is a bed shortage.. The new facility is described as having a 100-bed capacity. and the construction is tied to Brown and Root. formerly a subsidiary of Kellogg Brown & Root and linked in the report to work previously associated with detention at Guantánamo Bay.
Community pressure appears to have already influenced the terms of what the city contracted.. At a City Council meeting. the article says drone footage of the jail’s construction led some council members to compare the site’s look to ICE detention facilities.. One councilwoman is quoted describing it as resembling an ICE detention center. and the report says public pressure ultimately forced the company to withdraw from a previous deal for an ICE warehouse in south Kansas City.
Activists suspect the broader aim is to make room for visitors by changing what they see as public-space enforcement during the tournament.. The report says activists believe the city wants to sweep up unhoused people to make the area more “presentable” for tourists arriving for the soccer event.. It adds that last year the City Council passed an anti-loitering ordinance. which organizers say can be used during the World Cup “to lock up people” and remove them from sidewalks and key areas. leading to arrests and eventual detention.
The coalition argues the jail plan will fall hardest on Black, immigrant, and working-class communities.. The article cites a survey conducted with help from the Prison Policy Initiative. stating that while Kansas City is 26.5 percent African American. 71.2 percent of people sent to jail are Black.. Organizers have held a rally titled “We All Deserve a Shot” near the jail site. calling on city leaders to divest from incarceration and direct money toward services for unhoused residents. public transportation. and schools.. Their message ties the tournament to the communities most likely to be harmed: the report quotes the coalition’s view that soccer belongs to immigrant families. working-class communities. and communities of color.
Atlanta’s organizers are pursuing what they call a “benefit, not criminalize” approach to the tournament.. The report describes Play Fair ATL. a coalition of about 30 organizations spanning labor. housing. immigration. and criminal justice concerns. working to ensure the World Cup in Atlanta helps local communities instead of increasing enforcement pressures.. A leader is quoted saying the coalition loves the game and wants the tournament to happen with people rather than against them. describing the current reality as one in which the games are “happening to people” instead of benefiting them.
The group’s argument is also economic.. The report says the Atlanta World Cup is estimated to generate $1 billion in revenue. while the city expects to make only $4 million. with organizers contending that most of the money flows to corporations rather than local residents.. This is framed alongside memories of Atlanta’s 1996 Olympics. when activists say thousands of people were displaced and unhoused individuals were jailed ahead of the influx of athletes and fans.
Play Fair ATL is connecting past and present through education and organizing.. The report says the group collaborated with students at Georgia State University for a roundtable discussion and a historical walking tour of neighborhoods affected by the 1996 displacement.. It also describes a “People’s Cup” tournament held in April to educate the public about expensive ticket prices. immigration concerns. and the city’s limited community engagement.
Policy demands are part of the coalition’s agenda as well.. The report says Play Fair ATL is pressing for changes including an expansion of diversion services for low-level arrests that the City Council approved in anticipation of the World Cup.. Organizers are also trying to form a tenants advocacy office. working with state and local legislators to support a ban on ICE detention warehouses. and advocating for a responsible contractor policy they say would ensure workers are paid a fair wage.
The coalition’s planning horizon goes beyond 2026. The report quotes Michael Collins arguing they are preparing for other “mega events” planned for Atlanta, including the Super Bowl in 2028 and the Final Four in 2031.
Los Angeles is where the tournament’s political fight is described as both local and international.. The games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood are characterized as the newest and most expensive World Cup venue. and the report links the stadium to concerns about gentrification in Black and Latino neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles.
A transnational coalition is pushing a boycott, as described in the article.. In August 2025. the Anti Fascist Football Coalition—which the report says includes 50 organizations—initiated a boycott of World Cup games in the United States.. Ajamu Baraka of the Black Alliance for Peace is cited as arguing that the U.S.. has become a hostile environment for people from across the world. and should not be allowed to normalize violence and international “gangsterism.”
The report also raises uncertainty around Iran’s participation in the tournament in the context of U.S.. military actions.. It states that after the United States bombed Iran and Trump threatened to “wipe out” its “whole civilization. ” it is unclear whether Iran’s team will play.. Iran’s scheduled match in Los Angeles on June 16. 2026. against New Zealand is mentioned. and the account says Trump posted that he did not think it was appropriate for Iran to play due to its “life and safety.” It further notes that Iran’s sports minister said participation is “very low” under these circumstances and that Iran wants to move its games to Mexico.
In parallel, the report says some boycott advocates argue the U.S.. should not be allowed to host the World Cup games and that Israel should be removed from international football.. It also describes People’s Football Club matches promoted in South Central Los Angeles in support of pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE causes. with a quote from an organizer describing an effort to merge the athletic side of Los Angeles with organizing and to connect spectacles to broader systems of power.
Labor’s role in the Los Angeles fight is presented as a growing pressure point.. The report says UNITE HERE Local 11. which represents workers at SoFi Stadium. has threatened to strike weeks before the World Cup begins.. The union is demanding affordable housing. fair wages. protection from ICE raids. and assurances that jobs will not be replaced by automation and artificial intelligence.
The article also includes details about the stadium workforce and why the union ties its concerns to the presence of ICE.. It says SoFi Stadium has 2. 000 workers in roles including bartenders. servers. cooks. and dishwashers. and that the stadium’s design includes many high-end suites that require more staff per guest.. The union co-president Kurt Petersen is quoted saying many members are soccer fans but want the games to benefit workers and their communities.. He adds that the workforce is about half Latino and that there is no internal divide on ICE. noting that workers told the company during bargaining to demand “No ICE in the games.”
According to the report. the union has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the operators of SoFi Stadium and FIFA. arguing that the presence of ICE will “chill” collective bargaining because workers fear enforcement.. The article says the union has not heard back from FIFA. and that Petersen argues FIFA has effectively taken over the stadium’s operations and will ultimately decide whether ICE is acceptable for the games.
Across these host cities. the thread running through each campaign is the idea that mega-events must be accountable to the people living with their consequences.. Whether the focus is immigration enforcement in Florida. incarceration infrastructure in Missouri. community revenue and diversion in Georgia. or labor leverage and broader international boycotts in California. organizers insist the tournament should not be treated as a blank check—politically or financially—on communities already carrying heavy burdens.
World Cup 2026 FIFA activism ICE raids immigration enforcement Kansas City jail SoFi Stadium workers Play Fair ATL