Art & Culture

Why We Think the 2026 FIFA World Cup Could Be the Worst Edition Yet

BYYassine Hariss

June 2, 2026

The FIFA World Cup is football’s greatest celebration. Every four years, billions of people across the globe tune in, entire nations come to a standstill, and for one fleeting month, the sport convinces us that nothing else in the world really matters. Or at least, that’s how it’s supposed to feel. Yet with only days left before the 2026 edition kicks off across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, it’s become increasingly difficult to ignore the growing list of concerns surrounding what should be one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory.

Here are a few reasons why we think the 2026 FIFA World Cup could end up being one of the tournament’s weakest editions yet.

ICE Agents Are Part of the Security Plan

With ICE expected to play a role in the tournament’s security, concerns are already mounting amongst migrant communities and international visitors regarding unwarranted stops and the possibility of detention or deportation. For many, the biggest challenge won’t be securing a ticket to watch a game but simply feeling safe enough to attend one to begin with.

Earlier this year, Puerto-Rican Reggaeton star Bad Bunny pointed to similar fears when explaining why he chose not to bring his last tour to the United States, arguing that some fans could leave home for a concert and never make it back because of immigration enforcement. Those concerns have only intensified as criticism of ICE’s practices has grown, with UN experts raising concerns over alleged human rights violations tied to some of their methods. For a tournament built around the idea of bringing the world together, the prospect of fans worrying about border checks, visa statuses, or immigration enforcement before they’ve even entered a stadium feels like a contradiction that FIFA is willingly ignoring.

Visa Headaches for Player & Fans

What’s the point of qualifying for a World Cup if your fans can’t get into the country hosting it? While FIFA insists every qualified nation will be welcomed, reality is already proving more complicated. Countries facing U.S. travel restrictions or heightened visa scrutiny could see large portions of their fans locked out of the tournament altogether, forcing them to watch their national teams compete from thousands of miles away through no fault of their own. And it doesn’t just affect supporters as players too have already started running into similar obstacles. South Africa’s men’s national team, for instance, is right now still dealing with visa delays a little more than a week before its opening match. And if that’s happening to professional footballers, imagine the experience awaiting ordinary fans.

That’s not to mention the journalists, photographers, analysts, content creators, and support staff who help bring the tournament to life. For many of them, covering the World Cup may end up being just as dependent on visa approvals as it is on accreditation, but unlike players, FIFA won’t be pulling any strings on their behalf.

Sky-High Costs

World Cups have never been cheap, but this forthcoming edition might take things to a whole new level. As The Athletic recently reported, “FIFA’s Category 1 prices in the 2026 group stage, excluding openers, range from $450 to $990. In 2022, the same tickets cost $220.” Going further in their comparison, in the past, “tickets that cost around $1,000 were reserved for the World Cup final or for the best seats at the semifinals in 2022. Now, if you want a decent seat, it costs that much to watch the United States play Turkey in the group stage.”

The same logic applies to travel and accommodation. The Athletic found that hotel rates near stadiums are, on average, 55 percent higher on matchdays, with prices in some host cities more than doubling. Add flights, parking fees that can reach $300, and the cost of moving across three countries and 16 host cities, and suddenly following your team starts looking less like a football trip and more like a down payment on a house.

Brutal Kick-Off Times Across the Globe

For a tournament that’s already difficult to attend in person, watching it from home won’t necessarily be much easier. With matches spread across three countries and multiple time zones, kick-off times are expected to be particularly unfriendly for audiences outside North America. Depending on where you live, some of the biggest games could start in the middle of the night, during working hours, or in the early hours of the morning.

For fans across the Middle East and North Africa, that could mean staying up until 3AM or 4AM on a regular basis just to catch the tournament’s biggest fixtures. Which, admittedly, sounds very World Cup, but becomes considerably less appealing when you’re expected to wake up a few hours later and function like a normal human being. The only way around it, if you’re willing to, is to either take time off, or, as Jordan’s government has just announced, adjust working hours altogether for the entire nation while it competes.

Trump-Era Politics Looming Over the Tournament

The World Cup is supposed to offer an escape from politics but the problem is that the 2026 edition may find it impossible to do so. Between immigration crackdowns, border security debates, and an increasingly volatile foreign policy environment marked by ongoing tensions with Iran, politics are already threatening to become one of the tournament’s most defining storylines long before a single ball is even kicked.

The administration’s now-scrapped visa bond proposal only added to those concerns. At one point, visitors from dozens of countries faced the possibility of having to pay deposits of up to $15,000 simply to obtain a U.S. visa. The measure was eventually dropped for World Cup attendees, but the fact that it was ever considered says plenty about the political climate surrounding the tournament. Add that to the growing role of immigration enforcement, travel restrictions affecting several nations, and a conflict with Iran— a qualified nation— and FIFA’s vision of a borderless football celebration starts to feel increasingly detached from reality.

A Halftime Show Nobody Asked For

For the first time in World Cup history, the final will feature a halftime show co-headlined by Madonna, BTS, and Shakira, and produced in partnership with FIFA and Global Citizen to support education initiatives. While the cause itself is difficult to argue against, the move feels like another step toward turning football’s biggest tournament into a corporate entertainment product.

If American football’s halftime shows are anything to go by, viewers can expect a carefully choreographed mix of celebrity performances, sponsorships, brand activations, and marketing campaigns. Most football supporters, however, would probably prefer FIFA keep the focus on what they tuned in to watch in the first place: the game.

Why We Think the 2026 FIFA World Cup Could Be the Worst Edition Yet

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Why We Think the 2026 FIFA World Cup Could Be the Worst Edition Yet

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