Amnesty International has issued a stark warning that this summer’s FIFA World Cup hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico risks becoming a “stage for repression” unless urgent human rights safeguards are put in place.
The London‑based organization released its report, Humanity Must Win, on Monday, calling on FIFA and the host nations to ensure the safety and rights of fans, players and local communities.
FIFA has pledged to deliver a tournament where everyone “feels safe, included and free to exercise their rights.” But Amnesty argues that promise stands in “stark contrast” to realities on the ground, particularly in the United States, which will host three‑quarters of the tournament’s 104 matches.
The report describes the US as facing a “human rights emergency” under the Trump administration, citing mass deportations, arbitrary arrests and what it calls “paramilitary‑style” operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The acting ICE director recently confirmed the agency will be “a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup,” a statement that has intensified concerns following public outrage over the killing of two American citizens protesting ICE raids in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Amnesty says none of the published host‑city plans address how fans or local residents will be protected from immigration enforcement actions during the tournament. The organization also highlighted that supporters from Ivory Coast, Haiti, Iran and Senegal all competing this summer face US travel bans.
LGBTQ+ fan groups from England and Europe have already announced they will avoid matches in the US, citing risks to transgender supporters.
“This World Cup is very far from the ‘medium risk’ tournament that FIFA once judged it to be,” the report warns, urging immediate action to close the widening gap between the event’s original promise and the current political climate.
FIFA maintains that the expanded 48‑team tournament the largest in history will proceed as scheduled, despite uncertainty surrounding Iran’s participation amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
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