The World Cup has always been political, but it feels even more so now
From war in Iran to visa headaches and ICE threats, this World Cup has not stuck to sports. This week's FIFA Congress is a chance for the world to protest to soccer's leaders. But do they really care?
VANCOUVER, B.C. — The history books don’t say whether fans in the 1930s wrote letters to newspapers telling athletes to stick to sports. But they do say that the World Cup has been a political event since the start, nearly a century ago.
Uruguay hosted the first edition in 1930, after its president hosted FIFA’s first president for a barbecue. Across the Atlantic, Benito Mussolini saw the event’s success, then used the next one in 1934 to glorify fascist Italy.
In 1978, Argentina’s junta ran a detention and torture facility less than a mile from the stadium in Buenos Aires that hosted the final. That was 40 years before the controversial trifecta of Russia in 2018, Qatar in 2022, and the U.S., Canada, and Mexico this year.
So what’s going on right now isn’t new. It’s just that this time, the headlines are on these shores instead of someone else’s; and the country in the hot seat has been a democracy for 250 years.
That’s not to diminish the issues, to be clear. They are serious, as is their impact.
The list begins with a host nation bombing a participant. There are obviously many opinions about the U.S.-Iran conflict, and they are generally aired in The Inquirer’s op-ed pages instead of the sports section. But the first paragraph of this sentence is a fact, and a point made by some of the soccer world.
In March, after the U.S. killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s sports minister said “under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup." A few weeks later, Iran asked FIFA to move the team’s games to Mexico, and FIFA said no.
» READ MORE: A friend of the U.S. navigates the collision of sports and politics leading up to the World Cup
At one point, Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran plays or withdraws. That reportedly sent FIFA president Gianni Infantino rushing to the White House to get an emergency meeting with Trump, who he views as a close friend — a relationship Infantino has cultivated loudly.
Afterward, Infantino said on Instagram that “President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.” But the next day, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
It took Infantino going to one of Iran’s games in late March to finally calm the waters for a moment. But things erupted again last week when one of Trump’s envoys, Paolo Zampolli, said he asked the White House and FIFA to replace Iran with Italy, which disastrously failed to qualify for a men’s World Cup for the fourth straight time.
“I’m an Italian native and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the Financial Times. And he told the Associated Press that “my request was for the Italian people and the American-Italian people,” though he hadn’t asked if they all agreed.
» READ MORE: Trump ally asked FIFA to have Italy replace Iran at World Cup
(It’s worth noting some context here: Zampolli has a long history of headline-grabbing words, and a long history with Trump. He reportedly introduced the future president to his future wife, Melania, in 1998 when she was a fashion model.)
The Italians promptly dismissed the idea as if booting a clearance to the stands. The nation’s Olympic Committee president, Luciano Buonfiglio, said he “would feel offended,” and the government’s finance minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called it “shameful.”
Now another specter looms as the cherry on top. If the U.S. and Iran finish second in their World Cup groups, they’d meet in the round of 32 in Arlington, Texas.
The list of other controversies is so long that you can lose count of them all.
» READ MORE: How this fan is coping with a World Cup in Trump's America | Will Bunch
At the same time that the U.S. captured Venezuela’s president and threatened to annex Greenland and Canada, Infantino gave President Donald Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw.
On Monday, Norway’s soccer association president Lise Klaveness called for the prize to be abolished. She also backed a complaint filed to FIFA’s ethics committee in December that the peace prize broke FIFA rules on political neutrality.
Trump’s administration has banned citizens of some nations that will play in this summer’s tournament from entering the United States. Though there’s an exemption for official delegations at the World Cup, there’s no exemption for fans.
Iran and Haiti are among the banned nations. That affects Philadelphia directly, as Haiti plays Brazil in the city’s highest-profile group stage game on June 25.
» READ MORE: Fans from four nations headed to Philly for the World Cup face real obstacles to get here — including travel bans
Visitors from some other countries must pay a $15,000 refundable bond to enter, including World Cup participants Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte D’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tunisia.
That also impacts Philadelphia, as Côte D’Ivoire will play two games here and use the Union’s facilities as their base camp. Senegal will play the U.S. in Charlotte on May 31, in the Americans’ first game with their tournament squad assembled.
Last month, the Athletic reported that it was unclear whether World Cup delegations would be exempt from the bonds, with the State Department and FIFA not ruling out the possibility.
Other nations’ fans who can get in have had headaches getting U.S. visas, from long waits to demands to search social media posts for opinions the government doesn’t like.
» READ MORE: Can the U.S. play in Philly at the World Cup? It’s complicated.
When fans do arrive, they might have fears of ICE raids in mind. In February, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons did not rule out the possibility in a heated congressional hearing.
The Athletic reported earlier this month that FIFA leaders, all the way up to Infantino, have discussed asking Trump for a formal moratorium on ICE raids during the World Cup. It’s unclear whether the request has actually been made.
Wherever fans come from, almost everyone going to a game will have paid exorbitant prices, from thousands for tickets to $150 train fares in New Jersey and $80 in Massachusetts. (Philadelphia’s moves to leave SEPTA prices alone and offer free rides after games earned the city worldwide praise.)
It’s a lot to complain about, and many fans and media have complained — including plenty in this country. But with rare exceptions, most soccer officials haven’t. They’ve seen that FIFA projects $14 billion in revenue from this summer and want their piece of it, even as some national teams fear actually losing money on operational costs.
» READ MORE: How Philadelphia's World Cup setup became the envy of fans in New York, Boston, and beyond
For that, at least, FIFA has agreed to raise payouts to the participating teams. But the governing body hasn’t budged on much else, and there isn’t long until the tournament kicks off.
The biggest chance left to do something formal could be Thursday at the governing body’s annual Congress, a gathering of every national soccer federation. It’s in North America for the first time since 2016, and just the eighth time ever.
Vancouver has among the richest soccer histories of any city on the continent. The Whitecaps have played professional soccer for over half a century, from the old NASL to MLS, and hopefully will find a new owner that keeps them here.
The city’s soccer stage, BC Place, towers over the photogenic shores of False Creek. It’s the only MLS stadium that has hosted a World Cup final: the 2015 women’s edition, where 54,000 American fans roared for Carli Lloyd’s hat trick. This summer, it will host six games, including two of Canada’s and two in the knockout rounds.
Across town, the convention center stands next to the 2010 Olympic cauldron. It almost feels like a relic these days.
So, for all the controversies and complaints, will anyone actually protest Infantino on the big stage? And if not, then what? Those billions do a pretty good job of keeping the soccer world quiet, even the countries that can afford to speak up.
Answers will start to come soon. The Congress starts at 12:30 p.m. Philadelphia time, streamed live on FIFA’s website.
As ever — but especially now — the world will be watching.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
