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Soccer Belongs to the People. These Activists Want to Keep It That Way.

Communities in World Cup host cities across the United States are organizing to ensure that the tournament lives up to its promise of making soccer a force for good.

SoFi stadium workers protest outside FIFA World Cup 26 Los Angeles Office calling for ICE to be banned from the World Cup on May 1, 2026.

With World Cup soccer matches fast approaching, FIFA is engaged in price gouging for front-row seats. In New Jersey, the transit authority is charging exorbitant rates for transportation and parking. Beyond the mistreatment of fans, the games are being protested by activists who are putting a spotlight on the growing inequalities in their communities. In the host cities of Miami, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, they are organizing to fight ICE raids, jail-expansion projects, rising housing costs, and homelessness.

Anyone who follows soccer is aware that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, known as FIFA, is no stranger to scandal: In 1978, the dictatorship in Argentina likely fixed a World Cup match; vote-rigging in 2018 hoisted Sepp Blatter to the FIFA presidency; and Qatar gave million-dollar payouts to FIFA executive committee members in order win the right to host the World Cup in 2022. As Dave Zirin wrote in The Nation, FIFA is “not only an utterly corrupt and immoral entity but a supporter of dictators and bulwark against democracy.”

The organization invited further criticism when on December 5, 2025, it awarded the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to President Donald Trump for his efforts to, in the words of FIFA head Gianni Infantino, “promote peace and unity around the world.” Amid a growing sense of embarrassment over the award, FIFA doubled down on its decision, saying it still “strongly” supported the decision. Of course, after attacking on Iran, Trump’s claims of being “the peace president” are growing ever more absurd.

Across the United States (Mexico and Canada are also hosting matches), FIFA promoters and city boosters are working to capitalize on the games, but communities are making sure that they benefit, too. On the ground, union members, abolitionists, and immigrant rights activists are working together to ensure that the World Cup lives up to its promise of making soccer a force for good.

Miami Activists Issue Travel Advisory

Florida is at the forefront of Trump’s immigration crackdown. The state is home to the infamous Alligator Alcatraz. And more than 280 local and state agencies across the state are empowered to carry out immigration enforcement. At the same time, Miami is a host city for the upcoming World Cup. Soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing there in what will likely be his last World Cup. Miami is expecting to welcome tens of thousands of soccer fans from around the world.

Given the state’s embrace of Trump’s war on immigrants, a coalition of human rights groups has put out a travel advisory for visitors to the World Cup games in Miami that warns, “Florida is no longer a safe destination for international tourists. With the FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to Miami, travelers may face unprecedented risks of racial profiling, wrongful detention in inhumane conditions without consular access, and heinous human rights violations—regardless of legal travel status.”

Yareliz Mendez-Zamora, policy coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee, a member of the coalition, said compared to matches in California, New York, and New Jersey, the games in Florida will likely be especially dangerous for foreign tourists. “We’re seeing a highly policed state when it comes to immigrants,” she said. “We’ve heard stories about tourists with valid tourist visas who have been caught up in this operation.”

The Florida Immigrant Coalition held a demonstration outside the FIFA offices in Coral Gables, a........

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