FIFA has been made to look ridiculous before the 2026 World Cup has even begun, with the tournament already descending into a circus. Not a single ball has been kicked, with Mexico and South Africa set to open the competition on Thursday night, yet the build-up has been nothing short of farcical.
The answer to who could have seen this coming is pretty much everyone with a brain cell, given that the tournament is primarily being held in the United States. The same country that has been a worldwide laughing stock for the last decade, packed with useful idiots who gleefully elected Donald Trump as president not once, but twice.
As soon as it was revealed that the USA would co-host the World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, it was clear this would not be a normal tournament. When the USA entered the bidding process, questions were raised over the travel bans Trump had in place, primarily banning nationals from predominantly Muslim countries.
In response, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: "Teams who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious." Nevertheless, the USA were granted hosting rights despite those travel restrictions. Perhaps FIFA thought Trump would no longer be in office by the time the World Cup rolled around. If so, they seriously underestimated the stupidity of the American public.
Infantino doubled down last year, stating: "It's important to clarify this. There is a lot of misconception out there. Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year." Now, the same man who created the 'FIFA Peace Prize' just to hand it to warmonger Trump at last year's draw ceremony looks more ridiculous than ever.
So far, players from Senegal and Uzbekistan have been treated like criminals upon arrival in the USA, subjected to full searches by airport security. Omar Artan, widely considered Africa's top referee and selected for the World Cup on merit, was sent back to Somalia after having his visa denied. Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was detained at O'Hare International Airport and questioned for seven hours before being allowed entry. The team's photographer, Talal Salah, was not so lucky; he was sent back to Iraq after being denied entry, with Customs and Border Patrol citing 'vetting concerns'.
Around 40 members of Morocco's official supporter group were denied visas despite having tickets, with no clear reasons given. A significant chunk of Iran's backroom staff were also barred from entering the USA. Infantino has remained silent despite his insistence that everybody would be welcome.
There has also been complete silence from deranged Trump fanatics, who usually overlap with those who scream about 'keeping politics out of football' at every opportunity. Now, on the eve of the World Cup, it has never been clearer that the self-proclaimed 'greatest country in the world' should never have been allowed to host under the current regime.
But this is FIFA, the same organisation that handed the tournament to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Perhaps their next move will be to invite North Korea into the bidding process.
