As the World Cup opens in Mexico City with Mexico facing South Africa, many fans and even some media workers say travel bans, visa denials, and fear of ICE enforcement are turning excitement into dread. With ticket and pricing controversies, hot-weather concer
For many supporters, the first day of the World Cup didn’t feel like a celebration. It felt like a test of what could go wrong before the ball even kicked.
The tournament opened Thursday in Mexico City, with Mexico playing South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca. It’s the most ambitious World Cup in history in scope: 48 teams. 104 matches. played over 39 days in 16 cities across the United States. Mexico and Canada—planning that took eight years to build. But before the opening whistle, controversy had already piled up, feeding anxiety that could follow the games into the stands.
Jules Boykoff, a political science professor at the University of Portland and author of eight books on the politics of international sport, called it “the most politically combustible World Cup in recent history.” He said, “We’re in uncharted territory in many ways.”
The tensions aren’t abstract. Relations between the host countries. once strong. have been strained by tariff policies under the Trump administration and disagreements over border security. Travel bans have barred potential World Cup visitors—and even support staff and match officials—from entering the United States. Others are fearful of making the trip, worried about ICE raids and immigration roundups.
That fear is colliding with another geopolitical stressor: the United States is at war with a tournament qualifier, Iran. Iran has fired missiles and drones on Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, nations that are also World Cup participants.
In the press corps, the disruption has been immediate. The International Sports Press Assn. said Iranian and African journalists have been denied visas to cover games in the United States. and Iran protested after more than a dozen members of its support staff had their requests to enter the U.S. rejected. The Iranians were forced to move their training base from Tucson to Tijuana. and will spend limited time in the U.S. during group-play games in Inglewood and Seattle.
Detentions have also stretched the welcome for some. Players and journalists from Senegal, Uzbekistan and Iraq have been detained at U.S. airports for up to seven hours by immigration officials. Then on Monday. Omar Artan—described as a decorated referee and the first Somali official selected to work a World Cup—was turned away at Miami International Airport.
Beyond travel, the business side of the tournament is fueling another kind of frustration. Ticket prices have been so high and the lottery process so opaque that the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have begun formal investigations into FIFA practices. Other states, including California—host of tournament matches—have begun asking questions as well.
All of this has helped shape a wider public mood. A recent poll by Yougov.com found a majority of Americans—54%—say they are not at all interested in the tournament, and nearly six in 10 say they will not watch any matches. Boykoff said people are “just in a bad mood” and called it “a tough time.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tried to frame the event as a unifying spectacle. He remains optimistic, promising this will be “the biggest, the most inclusive, the greatest FIFA World Cup ever.” He made the same claim about the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2018 tournament in Russia.
But skepticism is rising from the gap between the promise and the trip. Steve Georgakis. a lecturer on sports studies at the University of Sydney and a frequent author on soccer. said the World Cup should be understood as both a global sporting celebration and a major commercial enterprise. with “these two dimensions being mutually enforcing rather than contradictory.” He argued the tournament’s “universal appeal” and participation of 48 nations keeps it a genuinely global sporting event.
Still, Boykoff said he doubts the noise will fade. He pointed to what he described as an erratic and impulsive Trump administration seeking a win from the tournament. alongside the “so many moving parts geopolitically.” He said he doesn’t have confidence it will end up being “a soccer-focused next five weeks.”.
The concern is not new. The 1974 World Cup in West Germany was tarred by the geopolitical fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In 1978. Argentina’s military dictatorship used the World Cup to sportswash a “Dirty War. ” in which as many as 30. 000 people were tortured. murdered and disappeared. The 2010 and 2014 World Cups faced cost overruns and delays tied to stadium and infrastructure construction. along with threats of labor unrest. while global outrage over human rights violations and discrimination against women and LGBTQ people hung over those tournaments.
Those issues, Boykoff and others say, don’t fully disappear. They just compete for attention with the football.
Jonathan Wilson. a columnist with the Guardian and author of “The Power and the Glory: The History of the World Cup. ” expects that same pattern this summer. He said. “The other stuff will still be there in the background. ” adding that “fundamentally the football will. for the vast majority of people. take over. It’s just sort of a natural cycle.”.
There is plenty on the field that could make that cycle plausible. Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo—the top scorers in soccer history—are playing in their sixth and final World Cups: Messi chasing a second straight title and Ronaldo pursuing the only prize that has eluded him. Kylian Mbabbe will try to take France to a third consecutive final. Young superstars including Erling Haaland of Norway and Lamine Yamal of Spain are looking to make their mark in their first World Cups.
Four teams—Jordan, Curacao, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan—qualified for the tournament for the first time.
And yet even the marquee storylines are arriving under a louder set of off-field pressures. There are travel restrictions in place that fully or partially bar citizens from 39 countries—including some World Cup participants—from entering the United States. The administration has said ICE and Homeland Security personnel will have a visible presence at World Cup venues. including SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. where the American team will begin play Friday.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed “There will be federal agents,” and added that he could not guarantee immigration sweeps would not take place. He said, “They told us that specifically would not be occurring,” but warned that “Any of that’s subject to change.”
Hotel operators in all 11 World Cup host cities say bookings for the tournament are well below projections. Several countries have issued warnings about travel to the United States. FIFA officials and tournament organizers say the sport should keep pulling attention back to the pitch—but for fans trying to plan trips. fears about visas and potential immigration enforcement have become part of the calculation.
Ticketing isn’t the only flashpoint. Parking prices have been as high as $900 at some stadiums. and there have been weather issues and a short-lived ban on water bottles. FIFA defended its policies on ticket prices by arguing that premiums are necessary to maximize revenue. which it says it will invest in global soccer development. It said variable, market-based pricing reflects standard entertainment practices in North America.
FIFA did reverse its ban on fans bringing bottles into games. Spectators are now allowed to enter stadiums with one soft, plastic 20-ounce water bottle.
Heat has added a different kind of pressure. Despite a warning from climate scientists that one in four World Cup games could be played in dangerously hot conditions, FIFA will start 40 of the matches at 3 p.m. or earlier local time — the warmest time of day—to accommodate European TV viewers.
Georgakis said the play on the field has to overcome those issues for the tournament to earn a favorable place in history. He said success will be judged by what happens on the field: “If the football is compelling. dramatic and memorable. the tournament will likely be remembered as a great World Cup.” He added that if the play falls short. the off-field issues—ticket prices. extreme heat. ICE enforcement activities. and the Trump administration—could receive “great attention” and shape perceptions.
For now, those off-field stakes are already shaping the mood of the opening days. The World Cup, built for joy, has arrived with a shadow that travelers can’t ignore—and a public that, at least in early polling, is not yet convinced the show will be worth the stress.
World Cup travel bans ICE enforcement FIFA Gianni Infantino Mexico City Estadio Azteca Omar Artan visas ticket prices Robert Luna SoFi Stadium Inglewood Inglewood Seattle Yougov poll hot weather