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Instead of a soft power coup, the World Cup could be an ‘own goal’ for Donald Trump

For football fans, the FIFA World Cup is so much more than sport. Every four years, it presents a unifying moment – bringing people together across the divides of language, culture and geography in a shared passion for the game.

For hosting nations, the World Cup is often a soft power supercharger. Watched by billions of people around the globe, it is a prime opportunity to showcase one’s country, culture and values.

This is all part of what’s known as sport diplomacy, or in this case “football diplomacy”. Beyond the trophies, governments invest in football to “win” off the pitch, too, in terms of fostering better relations, courting investment and earning global prestige.

It’s a Trumpian World Cup for racism and cynicism – why don’t those who condemned Qatar 2022 say so?

We must highlight the awful stance of the White House towards so many competing nations, but also the hypocrisy of leaders who acquiesce

Omar Artan was to be the first Somali to referee at the World Cup finals. A Fifa-certified referee since 2018, Artan officiated at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2023 and was named the 2025 Confederation of African Football men’s referee of the year. Last weekend, as we know, Artan was denied entry to the United States at Miami international airport.

The US has not officially given a reason for Artan’s ban, but we know that Somalia is one of the countries on Donald Trump’s travel ban list. After the news reverberated around the world, an administration source, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed the move came about because Artan had possible links to possible terrorists. But that claim, in the face of a furore, merits widespread scepticism. There is a word for this: racism.

The US border runs straight through the World Cup

The 2026 World Cup promised continental unity. Instead, it has exposed the violence and hypocrisy of Fortress America.

On June 11, the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off in Mexico, which, along with the United States and Canada, is cohosting this year’s tournament in an ostensible display of continental unity.

From the get-go, the whole shared hosting concept was rather ludicrous, given that one of the hosts is particularly bad at playing with others. For starters, the US maintains a system of overzealous visa restrictions and “travel bans” for citizens of an array of nations, which renders an already socioeconomically exclusive event even more so and shatters the illusion of international camaraderie that the World Cup is supposed to embody.

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