Fifa has been urged to encourage the American government to reverse its immigration policies ahead of the 2026 World Cup and has been warned that football’s governing body risks being “used as a public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government”.
In an open letter to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, 90 leading civil society organisations highlighted what it called “a series of repressive executive orders and enacted policy changes that violate both U.S. and international human rights law” by President Donald Trump’s administration which could impact visitors to the United States next summer.
Infantino was encouraged to use his leverage with Trump to influence American government policies by groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP.
They claimed that Fifa has not taken into account what they called a “significant deterioration in the rights climate in the United States”, citing that non-American nationals in the United States or those who express political opinions that are not shared by the current administration are at risk of denial of entry, detention or deportation.
They also called conditions in American immigration detention facilities “cruel” and “inhuman” and said the Trump administration’s travel bans restricted the ability of nationals from 19 countries to go to the United States.
The letter read: “Since the inauguration of President Trump in January 2025, the U.S. government has issued a series of repressive executive orders and enacted policy changes that violate both U.S. and international human rights law. These actions pose a serious threat to individuals – particularly non-citizens – traveling to or residing in the United States, including the estimated 1.5m foreign visitors attending this summer’s Club World Cup and 2.6m visitors projected to attend next summer’s Men’s World Cup. Increased immigration enforcement actions, abusive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, and broader border restrictions have also contributed to widespread fear and uncertainty.”
The 90 bodies have called upon Fifa to “publicly recognize the severity of the risks that U.S. government policies and practices pose to tournament attendees and migrant communities in the U.S. and publicly urge President Trump to reverse these policies and practices.”
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program, said: “The Trump administration has aggressively pursued a systematic anti-human rights campaign to target, detain, and disappear immigrants in communities across the U.S. – including in cities where the World Cup will take place.”
Nick McGeehan, co-director of FairSquare, added: “This is a hugely significant intervention from a broad swathe of U.S. civil society, which leaves Fifa in no doubt as to their profound concerns not just about the deterioration of the rights climate in the U.S. but the role that Fifa seems to be playing in that regard.”
Other signatures to the letter included organisations in World Cup host states and cities, including New York, Florida, Georgia, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
Read more on Yahoo Sports Canada
