In March 2023, FIFA moved with remarkable speed. Indonesia lost the right to host the Under-20 World Cup after political opposition emerged to Israel’s participation, a team that had qualified on merit. The governing body’s message was unmistakable: footballers must not become collateral damage in geopolitical disputes. Players had done nothing wrong. Discrimination against a qualified team was incompatible with the spirit and rules of the game.

Few would disagree with that principle. The deeper question is whether FIFA is prepared to apply it consistently.

Three years later, world football is heading towards its largest-ever World Cup, hosted primarily by the United States. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that players, officials, journalists and supporters from Muslim-majority countries have already encountered barriers that are neither hypothetical nor speculative. They are documented. They are recurring. And they raise an uncomfortable question about the credibility of FIFA’s commitment to equal treatment.

Indonesia was punished for what might happen. The United States is hosting despite evidence of what it already has. That contrast deserves far greater scrutiny.

The Indonesian case was emotionally devastating. A nation of 277 million people, where football occupies an almost sacred place in public life, saw years of preparation collapse virtually overnight.

The Indonesian case was emotionally devastating. A nation of 277 million people, where football occupies an almost sacred place in public life, saw years of preparation collapse virtually overnight.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure spending, tourism expectations, youth development opportunities and national pride vanished with a single FIFA decision. Studies cited in Indonesia estimated losses exceeding Rp3 trillion, while more than 44,000 potential jobs linked to the tournament evaporated. For many Indonesians, the punishment felt collective. Young players who had trained for years lost their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete on home soil.

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Yet FIFA argued that principle mattered more than politics. If that principle is universal, it must also apply to the 2026 World Cup. The concern is not theoretical. It sits at the intersection of football, immigration policy and international relations. Human rights organisations, migration experts, sports governance........

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