95bFM Concerns the US will ‘sportswash’ 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup
15 October, 2025
Interview by Alex Fox, adapted by Samantha Watson-Tayler
Concerns have been raised that next year’s FIFA Men’s World Cup will see ‘sportswashing’ distract viewers from human rights and civil freedoms concerns in the countries hosting the international sporting competition, specifically, in the US.
The term ‘sportswashing’ refers to using international sports events to launder the reputations of nation-states responsible for human rights abuses.
When bidding to host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, host nations the US, Mexico, and Canada prepared clear human rights commitments. In the organisation’s Human Rights Policy, FIFA says it upholds the responsibility to respect human rights in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
However, the Sports & Rights Alliance at the human rights organisation Amnesty International have identified multiple areas of concern regarding how — particularly the Trump Administration — will meet these commitments. The Alliance has expressed human rights concerns for immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and children, freedom of the press and free expression.
The US also recently hosted the FIFA Club World Cup, which saw 32 international men’s association football teams compete against each other.
Following the competition, The Athletic reported that FIFA had received 145 reports of human rights concerns during the event.
Luke Bird, a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Arts and Education at the University of Auckland, told 95bFM’s The Wire that the concept of ‘sportswashing’ isn’t new.
“Sport has been used by Western, non-Western, liberal, and illiberal states for a long time as a tool [of] political persuasion, dating back to ancient Greece.”
In the modern context, Bird says most accusations of ‘sportswashing’ are targeted at nations in the Middle East, such as Qatar, which held the last FIFA Men’s World Cup, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, over concerns of authoritarianism and widespread human rights abuses.
Bird questions whether similar criticisms will now be placed on the US.
“My expectation is that given that it's a Western Liberal democracy. I think sportswashing accusations will be far less than, for example, Qatar 2022.”
Bird says like with previous international sporting competitions, Trump will be “stealing headlines”.
“I think that the Club World Cup was another example where Trump, you know, became the centre of spectacles … we've seen it this year at the US Open, the Ryder Cup, the Super Bowl … during the Daytona NASCAR race he flew Air Force One around the circuit and then did a tour of the circuit in the presidential limo.”
He expresses concerns about the 40 countries on which the Trump Administration has implemented a travel ban.
“… immediately questions were raised about the fact that the host in the World Cup and then the 2028 Olympics in LA two years later, and you know, for example, the Paris Olympics last year, there were delegates from every single country on the travel ban list.
Bird says this will create VISA complications for fans from these countries trying to attend games in the US cities hosting matches.
“There have been exemptions made for players, staff, and families to attend these events, but not for fans.
“... for example, I believe Colombia at the moment has a two-year waitlist for VISAs. This is the same with Türkiye now. Given that Colombia only recently qualified, you know, it's less than two years away, so it seems almost impossible for these fans to be able to attend.”
He says this would extend to the other nations hosting the competition: Mexico and Canada.
Bird says FIFA has a role in enabling different states to ‘sportswash’.
“FIFA has been actively looking for investments from authoritarian states [for] a year, dating back to you know, Mussolini and I think the 1928 World Cup through to Argentina in 1978, and more recently, you know, some of the biggest sponsors are brands owned by Authoritarian regimes: Saudi Aramco, Qatar Airways, etc.
“… scholars largely say that this is a kind of bi-directional relationship between the investing state and the sporting body like FIFA who are essentially facilitating and enabling the process of sports washing and [that] this kind of relationship serves to legitimise the investing state.”
He believes the news media needs to report more on these concerns.
