Amnesty International has urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to use the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, starting today, Thursday, to show his commitment to ensuring that the World Cup in United States, Mexico and Canada is free from deportations, detentions and repression, and that immigration policies won't act during the event.
"With just six weeks until the 2026 World Cup kicks off, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has yet to publicly outline how fans, journalists and local communities will be safe from arbitrary detention, mass deportations and crackdowns on free expression", said Steve Cockburn, Head of Economic and Social Justice at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International had previously warned about the danger and risk to fans, players, journalists, workers, and local communities coming from abusive US immigration policies, which resulted in "unlawful arrests, mass detentions and deportations". "This FIFA Congress should be the moment he does so, and the global football community must receive more than empty platitudes".
Cockburn considers "incredible" that Infantino hasn't asked Trump yet to halt ICE raids during World Cup, during a time when millions of foreign visitors will visit the US. "In 2025 alone, 500,000 people were deported from the USA amidst a nationwide human rights emergency. This cannot continue."
"In the USA, immigration policies continue to pose a severe threat, while discrimination and restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful protest are in place across all three host countries. It is time for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to finally tell us how human rights will be protected."