Even the Nazis tried to tone things down before the 1936 Olympics.
The Third Reich removed antisemitic signs and temporarily suspended anti-homosexuality laws to soften its image for foreign visitors.
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By contrast, the 2026 men's World Cup is being co-hosted in a country utterly indifferent to what a foreign visitor might think.
The US of Donald Trump actively wants you to see the darkness in its heart.
Visa Restrictions and Detentions
The administration turned away Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a Somali referee accredited by FIFA, just days before the tournament.
Trump has previously described Somalis as “garbage” and “crooks”.
“We want to make sure we are not going to allow a soccer tournament to be the opportunity for terrorists to potentially get in the country,” said Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House World Cup task force.
The vice-captain of Iraq was detained for seven hours on arrival.
Thirteen members of the Iranian delegation are still waiting for visas, and their fan ticket allocation has been revoked.
According to the BBC, 11 of the 48 participating countries – all from the global south – face travel restrictions or unusually high visa rejection rates.
FIFA's Reversed Power Balance
FIFA has rarely been shy of using leverage over past host countries. In 2014 it threatened to strip Curitiba of hosting rights over stadium delays.
In 2018 it persuaded Russia to relax immigration laws for visa-free fan entry and intervened to overturn a ban on journalist Hajo Seppelt.
