Preamble
The history of the World Cup, considered by many as the greatest football tournament on the planet, has continued to trend on the internet since the inception of the 2026 Edition, with the name of the French lawyer who co-founded the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1904, Mr Jules Rimet, reverberating across different news platforms. Amidst the different controversies that have plagued the organisation of the ongoing competition, Mr Rimet’s vision that led to the inaugural tournament has been cited to refocus discussions on the foundational ideology of the competition. The longest-serving FIFA president, whose tenure lasted 33 years (1921-1954), proposed the concept of the World Cup during FIFA’s May 1928 17th Congress that was held in Amsterdam. The proposition was to create a competition that would accommodate every team from affiliate member countries, a symbolism that is reflected in its trophy’s current design of two human figures lifting the earth. This all-embracing disposition has been consolidated by FIFA’s decision to move its headquarters from Paris to Zurich in 1932, especially with Switzerland maintaining its neutrality during WWII.
The accommodating logic of Mr Rimet has been traced to his catholic background, having been influenced by the catholic social teaching on unity and human dignity as embodied by Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum. The pope’s intervention had been on the challenges of technological evolution of the industrial revolution that were characterised by exploitation of labour, poverty, and other deleterious living conditions, which undermined the dignity of humans. The pontiff advocated for communal approaches to restore the dignity of workers and care for the poor, so as to ensure better living conditions. Mr Rimet, who was also a medalled war veteran from his service during WWI, drew inspiration from the pope’s call to restore the dignity of the oppressed. He supported the provision of medical and social services to underserved populations from the age of 17. It is thus not surprising that he considered sports as a medium for unity that would defy identity-based stereotypes, and exemplified this through his Red Star Football Club that embraced people from all walks of life. Almost a century after the first match of the World Cup took place, the 23rd edition of the tournament has come under scrutiny for deviating from the vision of FIFA’s founding members. From the economics of its organisation to the sociopolitics of the games, there have been undercurrents of identity politics threatening to undermine its unifying potential. The June 17, 2026 edition of the Africanist Scholars’ Forum thus focused on understanding why this year’s World Cup had experienced some controversies, and what possibilities exist in maximizing its unifying value.
Observations
We observe that there have been reservations against the increase in the number of countries participating at the 2026 tournament from 32 to 48, with the immediate past FIFA President, Mr Sepp Blatter, one of the major critics calling out the organisation for stretching the competition beyond its limits. While the increase could be a welcome development that promotes the vision of inclusivity, with Africa and Asia afforded more spots of ten and nine respectively, this merit has been overshadowed by the economics of the expansion, with FIFA looking to recoup around $USD13bn between 2023 and 2026. For a body that has always come under scrutiny on allegations of corrupt practices that leverage its claims to independence, the lack of effective structures of transparency within its operational dynamics gives credence to suspicions regarding conflicts of interests hinged on the enrichment of some of its officials. Hitherto, Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup was challenged by the US as having not followed a due process, just as Mr Gianni Infantino, the current FIFA President, has been criticised for entwining the organisation with politics; especially as many consider his friendship with the US President, who was awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Price, incompatible with the neutral stance of the organisation.
Despite the geographic and sociopolitical challenges of the first experiment by Japan and South Korea to cohost the 2002 edition of the tournament in Asia leading to a policy by FIFA to restrict bids to individual hosts, considerations on the financial burden on single hosts and the lack of sustainability of returns from investments owing to abandoned and dysfunctional infrastructures built for the tournament led the football body, in 2017, to open up the bids for the 2026 World Cup to co-hosting, with the United States, Mexico and Canada winning the hosting rights. Nonetheless, the challenges of transborder movements that have characterised an emerging multilateral global order laced with nationalist ideologies have subsisted through the tournament, at times in subtle forms. For instance, the inability of the mother (Ms Ana Candida Evora) of Cape Verde’s goalkeeper (Vozinha) to meet the bond requirements for visas prevented her from witnessing the heroics of her son, and went viral. This subsequently led to the intervention of the US Democrat, Mr Hakeem Jefferies, and Secretary of State, Mr Marco Rubio, to facilitate her travel. The members of the Iranian entourage have also complained about being treated differently, having been ordered out of California across the border to their training base in Tijuana immediately after their first match, leading Coach Amir Ghalenoei to state that their team is the most oppressed at the World Cup. The President of the Palestinian Football Association could also not secure a visa to the US despite holding FIFA accreditation.
FIFA has also been criticised for exorbitant ticket prices during the buildup to the World Cup, with the final match tickets listed for as high as $USD32, 970. This has been compounded by substantial increase in travel costs at a time when the faceoff between the US and Iran at the Strait of Hormuz led to a surge in global inflation. The detailed security checks that some teams were subjected to, with trends highlighting geographic stereotypes, similarly confirm the precarity that characterises transborder movements in today’s politics. Quite a number of fans whose countries are under US travel restrictions have also had to forfeit already purchased tickets, alongside a number of others who could not secure entry authorisation. Perhaps, one of the most controversial decisions has been the refusal of entry to the Somalian referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, arguably one of the best in the world, by the United States. This was apparently due to a case of mistaken identity, since someone with a similar name had been flagged for ties to Al Shabab, but largely resonates with how geographic identities reinforce stereotypes. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) stepped in to diffuse the situation by inviting him to preside over the Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germaine and Aston Villa in August, 2026, to be hosted by Salzburg. FIFA has also committed to paying him the full tournament package. Whether these measures suffice in addressing the root causes of identity stereotypes in the beautiful game, or are just a cosmetic approach characteristic of political correctness remains a subject of debates among football enthusiasts and political commentators.
Recommendations
It is important that FIFA maintains its neutrality and lives up to the objectivity that was central to its creation. This would entail maintaining the separation of the organisation and its operations from national and global politics in order to continue to enjoy the global legitimacy it does at the moment. This would also involve revisiting the controversies that have plagued its financial operations in recent times so as to reposition its integrity as an organisation working to promote the good of humanity.
The centrality of deconstructing barriers through a sports festival that allows for participation of all countries irrespective of geographical location or global standing needs to be accentuated in the organisation of such a global football festival as the World Cup. This is particularly relevant at a time where the current pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, reiterates the importance of safeguarding the dignity of the human person in an age where it has been threatened by technological instrumentation as detailed in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. It is thus important that the unifying attribute of sports, reflected through a representative gathering of the global community under fair and equal conditions, is held sacrosanct.
Beyond sports, the global community should pay attention to the ethics of international relations amidst the changing dynamics of the global order that has come to be characterised by protectionism. While there are legitimate arguments on protecting national interests, though at times nebulous, and ensuring the safety of citizens, sovereign nations need not achieve this at the detriment of the dignity of non-nationals. As the 2026 World Cup has shown, stereotypes deface the beauty of global communion that was intentionally crafted to promote human dignity and development.