Heading for the World Cup? Warning: You could be Trumped

Planning to head to the US for the FIFA World Cup later this year? 

 
More than 120 civil society organisations and fan groups have advised extreme caution in a letter to visiting fans, The New York Times reports. 

Among the signatories to the letter are Amnesty International USA, Reporters Without Borders, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The total includes organisations from each of the World Cup’s 11 host cities. 

The US is a co-host of the event with Canada and Mexico. 

The letter warns that those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic minority groups, and LGBTQ+ individuals are “most vulnerable to serious harm” when travelling within the country due to government policies. 

The advisory, published Thursday, is directed towards fans, players, journalists, and other visitors, calling upon each individual to “exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan” amidst what they term as the “Trump administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence”.

Evidence cited as part of the advisory includes 48 deaths in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since the beginning of 2025, total or partial restrictions on entries for visitors from 39 countries, and the presence of ICE agents at airports across the US over recent months.

Both FIFA and the White House rejected these concerns in statements to The Athletic, the New York Times' sports outlet.

The advisory warns of six separate risks to visitors, saying these are “in breach of the United States’ human rights obligations under domestic and international law”. 

These are:

*The arbitrary denial of entry and risk of detention and/or deportation
*Expanded limitations on travel and entry into the U.S.
*Invasive social media screening and searches of electronic devices
* “Violent and unconstitutional” immigration enforcement, including racial profiling and other discrimination
* “Suppression” of speech and protest
* Serious risk of mistreatment while being held in immigration detention facilities

They advise that visitors secure electronic devices by removing sensitive information and turning off facial recognition or fingerprint passwords, as well as alerting friends and family to their exact itinerary.

“FIFA has been paying lip service to human rights while cosying up with the Trump administration, putting millions of people at risk of being harmed and their basic rights violated,” said Jamil Dakwar, human rights program director at the ACLU. 

“The Trump administration’s abusive actions continue to threaten our communities, tourists, and fans alike - and it’s past time that FIFA uses its leverage to push for meaningful policy changes and binding assurances that will make people feel safe to travel and enjoy the games.” 

Representatives from Trump’s administration and the White House’s World Cup Task Force strongly pushed back at any suggestion questioning the tournament’s safety, the newspaper reported.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the White House World Cup Task Force has worked relentlessly to ensure the 2026 World Cup will be the most incredible sporting event in U.S. history,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force.

Qatar wants to spy on World Cup visitors

With the World cup finals in Qatar just a month away, Qatar’s government is causing concern to visitors with newly imposed demands on fans travelling to the tournament.

 The Qatari government requires all foreign visitors to download a pair of apps that provide officials with rights to access data on their phones - apps that could be considered as spyware.

Ehteraz is a Covid-19 tracking app that can manipulate content on a user’s phone. It can also override installed software and disable a phone’s lock screen.

Hayya, which tracks match info and access to the public transport system in Qatar, has permission to share information on a user’s phone.

Øyvind Vasaasen, the head of security at Norsk Rikskringkasting AS (NRK), the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, warned against uploading the apps.

“It’s not my job to give travel advice, but personally, I would never bring my mobile phone on a visit to Qatar,” Vasaasen told the NHK website.

“When you download these two apps, you accept the terms stated in the contract, and those terms are very generous. You essentially hand over all the information in your phone. 

"You give the people who control the apps the ability to read and change things, and tweak it. They also get the opportunity to retrieve information from other apps if they have the capacity to do so, and we believe they do.”

NRK has submitted its findings about the security loopholes to FIFA but the organisers, not keen on rocking the boat, reportedly say they do not wish to comment on the matter.

Qatar has previously come under fire for human rights violations and the treatment of migrant labourers employed to build stadiums for the tournament.