[Sports law] Are human rights challenges facing the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States?

Asser Institute researcher Daniela Heerdt was recently interviewed by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant about the human rights challenges facing the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States under President Trump's policies.

In 2026, the Unied States will welcome the rest of the world to the ‘most inclusive and open World Cup ever’, FIFA promised, but current immigration policies under president Trump threaten this pledge by endangering the rights of fans and immigrants, writes journalist Dilip Sonak for de Volkskrant.

The administration's travel bans, increased visa costs, and stringent application requirements - including a new ‘integrity fee’ - make it increasingly difficult for fans, even from qualifying nations like Iran, to travel freely. Furthermore, discriminatory policies targeting transgender and non-binary travelers, along with empowering customs officials to deny entry based on political profiles, are expected to severely curtail the freedoms of fans both at the border and within the host cities.

In the article, Daniela Heerdt (Asser Institute), an expert on human rights and mega-sporting events, addressed the disconnect between FIFA's stated commitments towards human rights and the on-the-ground reality for fans. While FIFA officially committed to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Heerdt notes that the practical meaning of this "paper commitment... remains unclear."

According to Heerdt, this partly explains why FIFA does not openly oppose Trump’s immigration policy, even though it makes a freely accessible World Cup for many impossible. An additional problem is that the closer a World Cup gets, the more influence FIFA relinquishes to local parties, her research shows.

Crucial legal distinction
Heerdt, who in 2022 participated the FIFA Human Rights Volunteers Programme during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, highlighted a crucial legal distinction: FIFA’s statutes focus on respecting human rights, "which is not the same as protecting and adhering human rights." This, she said, is "a world of difference" in practice.

Furthermore, because FIFA outsources the event to US public and private parties who must follow national laws, the organisation's influence diminishes as the event approaches.

Heerdt suggests that due to the huge economic risk, the chance of FIFA postponing the event is "nil," leaving the organisation "powerless on the sidelines." However, she concludes that through continued pressure from sport federations and civil society, "a lot can happen in ten months."

Read the full article (in Dutch)

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About Daniela Heerdt
Dr Daniela Heerdt is a researcher in the field of sport and human rights. She has a background in public international law and human rights law and defended her PhD project entitled “Blurred Lines of Responsibility and Accountability – Human Rights Abuses at Mega-Sporting Events” in April 2021 at Tilburg University. The focus of the project was the question of how to establish legal responsibility for human rights harms that occur in the context of these events, including violations of rights of specific groups like children or migrant workers. Daniela also works as independent consultant in the field of sport and human rights for the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, or the European Parliament among other clients from the sports ecosystem. Read more.