ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of football’s showpiece event — the largest ever with 48 teams taking part — is set to kick off under a cloud. Qatar, where Messi finally lifted the coveted trophy, and Russia before that in 2018, had been welcoming World Cup hosts. It is not the same anymore with American politicking taking centre stage. The US are hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico but everyone knows who is calling the shots in this tournament. Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US despite having a visa, and FIFA later dropped him from the tournament roster. Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was questioned for hours at a Chicago airport before being let in. As hostilities rage between the US and Iran, the latter had to switch their training base to Mexico although all their three group stage games are in the US. Iranian fans saw their tickets cancelled by the US and members of their delegation were refused visas. For perhaps the first time, visas were denied to accredited journalists too.

At the pre-tournament press conference, FIFA president Gianni Infantino shrugged off the controversy, stating that the football body was focused on being a ‘sports organisation’. For the World Cup in the US, FIFA is not the same as it was — the brand that used the world’s most powerful cultural force to promote inclusivity and togetherness. All this despite Mr Infantino having cultivated close ties with President Donald Trump and despite FIFA having set a precedent when it stripped Indonesia of hosting rights after it refused Israel’s participation at the Under-20 World Cup. Perhaps he is ceding control of his own tournament and will wrest it back once the action begins and the attention shifts to the storylines that the World Cup brings. By that time, the troubled build-up — as FIFA has seen in previous editions — may become a thing of the past.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2026