By Ben Efe 11.6.2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday in Mexico, thereafter group games would be held in Canada and the USA where the quarterfinal, semifinal and final contests will be decided.
Cities in America will host most of the games and from all reckoning it promises to be the most unfriendly world soccer fiesta ever hosted in modern times. The World Cup is a celebration of football; cultures from around the world gather together to cheer their teams in what can be described as a festival of sportsmanship and friendship, which draws the attention of the whole world. Friends and foes set aside whatever animosity they have, as they come together to watch the games.
But FIFA president Gianni Infantino and major host country President Donald Trump seem to have formed a partnership of sorts to make the 2026 edition a celebration of “xenophobic exuberance.” Otherwise, why would certain fans of teams that qualified for the World Cup be made to sweat to get visas to enter America, why would some others be outrightly denied?
And worst of all, why would a celebrated African referee listed to officiate in the soccer fiesta be turned back at the Miami Airport because the host country thinks he is a member of the Al Shabad terror group? Iran was also asked to stay outside of the United States, they would only come in to play their games and retreat to Tijuana in Mexico.
Hosting the World Cup and indeed other great sporting events like the Olympics comes with the responsibility of the hosting country allowing visitors into their territory, even if they are at war with a country participating in the event.
But the barefaced racist regime of President Trump and his goons including Infantino have brought the World Cup into disrepute. It is terrible that Infantino could allow the World Cup to go ahead in the USA, when Mr. Trump gave all the signs that he wouldn’t be a friendly host.
Even more terrible for Infantino was conferring Mr. Trump with the title of FIFA Peace Awards, when everything the norm and law breaking President does indicates that he is bias towards some races and people with a different religion what makes Trump merit a FIFA Peace Awards, which Infantino invented just to make the megalomaniac President happy.
It was clear that referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was thrown out of the USA, because of Trump’s declared hatred for the people of Somalia born out of his long feud with his political foe Ihan Omar.
Infantino tells everyone to relax saying it was the prerogative of the hosting country to grant entry to whomever they wish. This is a betrayal of football, betrayal of the officiating officials and betrayal of football fans. Couldn’t Infantino switch Artan to officiate in either Mexico or Canada, but because he has rented an office apartment at the Trump Towers in New York, he has to please his landlord by all means.
“It is unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia,” Infantino said.
“We don’t control everything… Sometimes it’s good to chill, relax, we work on everything, we try to solve everything.
“Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution.”
Trump has quarreled with the mayors of the hosting cities in the USA, there is discordant tunes and it remains to be seen if the US can deliver a World Cup that surpasses the expectations or world football followers.
The USA ’94 World Cup remains a yardstick to measure how successful a country can host. Then America was a friendly host, people moved freely, fans from all around the world had easy movement, American citizens were very welcoming.
But from the look of things chaos is waiting to unfold, there are concerns about traffic gridlocks, ticket sales and resales and traveling ban. Cities hosting the games expected an influx of visitors, so that they can recoup their investments in preparing for the games.
Fans have groaned over the high cost of tickets, some as high as $30,000 and the lowest being $60.
According to Infantino FIFA “does not control everything.”
Mexico and South Africa kicked off the World Cup in the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, signaling the beginning of the first ever 48 teams’ tournament. The final will be decided in New Jersey on July 19.
The USA will host 78 games of the 104 expected to be played. And FIFA has targeted a record-breaking $`13 billion in total revenue.
