The Beautiful Game & The Human Rights
In Canada, the impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and a growing housing crisis have raised fears that people experiencing homelessness will again be displaced/Amnesty/AFP
Amnesty International’s March 2026 report warns that the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, poses serious human rights risks to fans, players, workers, and local communities.
The US deported over 500,000 people in 2025 under the Trump administration, with ICE operations targeting communities of colour in all major host cities. Travel bans bar fans from Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Iran, and Senegal.
Dallas, Houston, and Miami have signed law enforcement collaboration agreements with ICE. Mexico has mobilised 100,000 security personnel, raising fears of protest repression. In Toronto, a homeless winter shelter was closed to make way for FIFA. Only four of sixteen host cities have published human rights plans, and none addresses immigration enforcement.
Sources: Amnesty International, “Humanity Must Win,” March 2026; New York Times analysis of US deportation data, 2025; Amnesty International statement by Steve Cockburn, March 2026.
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