For years,football has united the world,with clubs like Real Madrid,Barcelona and Manchester United bring together people from all over the world to support them and giving millions something to bond over.From continental competitions like the European Championships or the Copa America,helping to bring together people of entire countries of their continents,even some people from outside those nations.An example of this would be India,a country where the national team has never qualified for the world cup.Many indians have been lifelong fans of major footballing nations like Brazil,Argentina,France,Spain or Germany.During the Euros or Copa America,millions of Indian football lovers tuned in to watch their favorite national teams play in these tournaments.

However,the most successful way football unites us is the FIFA World Cup.A competition with more than a billion viewers and thousands of fans in the stadiums,with more than 30 teams competiting for this prestigous trophy.Entire nations cheer for their national teams for qualification.And if they do,bars,homes and neighbourhoods gather to support them.Going back to nations like India,people have founded entire fan clubs for one nation that isn’t even their home,but that doesn’t matter to them,for their teams have given them hope,motivation,maybe even hardship,but more importantly,a community.

I could go on and on about how the world cup unites many people,and how football is a tool for unity,but that is not the focus for today.This post aims to highlight how intertwinned in politics the has become,despite FIFA’s strict policy of apoliticalness to make sure people enjoy watching the world cup without being offended.

The issues

Omar Abdulkartin Artan,a Somalian FIFA-certified match official,took a flight from Istanbul to Miami on June 6th for a FIFA match official seminar.Despite possessing valid documents and FIFA permissions,he was inspected by US immigration officials for 11 hours,then he was denied entry on the basis of “unspecified vetting concerns”.

This was not the first incident of immigration issues.Iranian football federation officials on important business in the country were denied visas,Iranian players were subject to rules like they could only arriving close to match time and had to leave soon after.

Similarly,Aymen Hussein,the Iraqi striker,was reportedly questioned for about seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport before being allowed in.Even fans themselves were denied entry,such as when Morrocan fans were denied entry despite having valid visas.

The probable cuases

The Trump Government has pledged itself to stronger borders as a result of their election victory,causing many controversies with their ICE raids and strict immigration processes and border control.This may be a cause for why border security has become very strict,for they may just be working to the greater safety of the world cup.However,it can be argued that there is an extent to which this security can go,and where a line between security concerns and harassment can be drawn.

The security forces seemingly target anyone excessively from the Global South with their security measures.It also specifically targets Iranians.While I aim to not be accusatory or political,it is worth noting that with this new Trump presidency,xenophobia and racism has widely gained traction in the USA,and it is possible this maybe a reason for these incidents.

The effects

While it is upto much debate about the causes of these excessive security decisions,they still negatively affect the world cup itself.The Iranian and some of the Iraqi players may not feel welcome at all,and will cause them to underperform,ruining an atmosphere of community and healthy competition,which FIFA promises the world cup to be.

In Qatar,in 2022,despite being a muslim nation,Qatar were very hospitable hosts,not employing excessive border inspections for fans,players and officials alike.They even went so far to allow alcohol to be served for the visiting fans in select zones,for their enjoyment.If a host can bring down its strict cultural norms for foreigners to enjoy a global spectacle such as the World Cup,it can be argued that the US can loosen its dtrict borders for less than 2 months,for enjoyment of millions of fans wanting to support their teams.If Qatar managed to navigate past its laws for the enjoyment of their guests,why not the US?