"World Cups are the very best of football. Most fans remember their first as the moment that curiosity turned into infatuation. Players play for their country rather than for contracts, for the flag on the front of the shirt rather than the name on the back. It is a stage for the very greatest talents in the game as well as the bravest underdogs. It provides weeks of distraction from the real world. It gets the pulse racing like nothing else."
"The expansion of the tournament from 32 teams to 48 means that, rather than a gathering of the world's elite talent, it all feels a little crowded. Many fans have been put off by the sheer cost of the tournament. It's hard to get swept up in sporting romance when everywhere you look - from tickets to travel to hotels to parking - prices are extortionate."
"Then there are the politics. FIFA's awarding of their inaugural Peace Prize to Donald Trump in December was already controversial - and that was before the US began bombing Iran, one of the countries that it is due to host at this summer's finals. It all adds to a sense that rather than distracting from world events, this World Cup is inextricably tied to them."
"This is not the first World Cup to face criticisms before a ball has been kicked. The build-up to 2022 was beset by protests questioning the suitability of Qatar to host for a myriad of reasons, while the images of 2018, when FIFA president Gianni Infantino cozied up to Russia's Vladimir Putin so readily, have aged like milk."
World Cups are described as the pinnacle of football, where players represent their countries, fans feel intense excitement, and the tournament offers a break from everyday life. The upcoming 2026 finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are framed as different because of lingering doubts. Expanding the tournament from 32 to 48 teams is said to make it feel crowded rather than focused on the world’s elite. Costs for tickets, travel, hotels, and parking are portrayed as extortionate, reducing sporting romance. Political concerns are raised, including FIFA’s Peace Prize award to Donald Trump and the US bombing of Iran, a host country. The piece notes that past World Cups also faced pre-tournament criticism, including protests about Qatar in 2022 and controversial images involving FIFA leadership and Russia in 2018.
Read at World Soccer
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