Afrasianet - Khaldoun Al Sheikh - It was supposed to be an unprecedented global carnival, in the country of entertainment and marketing experts...
The 2026 World Cup was supposed to be the pride of FIFA, as it is the biggest, widest, and most money-earning...
For the first time, three host countries participated, with the participation of 48 teams, including 8 Arab teams.
The answer is simply because the top three hosts, whose stadiums will host 80% of the tournament's matches, including the final, is the United States.
It is not strange that a lot of storms and organizational storms form in a host country that does not love soccer, or in most countries of the world, "soccer", but for the Americans it means a completely different sport, a sport in which players are allowed to throw the ball with their hands and wear helmets to protect against strong impacts, that is, the sport known in Europe as "rugby".
This unbridled desire of the world's biggest pole to break away from it, to create its own identity and culture, has shaken the understanding and understanding required to welcome soccer fans and fans of competing teams.
But this time, two influential figures, who are united by the love of power and money, collided in the partnership in this hosting, namely US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as the former loves irrational tensions in absurd times, such as his war with Iran, which is supposed to have been advised by his advisers that any turmoil, military tension or war, will definitely reflect on the fans and the masses of fans, in addition to his contradictory statements every day, as a few weeks ago he welcomed "everyone" to attend the World Cup competitions.
However, 15 officials from the Iranian team's delegation were denied visas to enter the United States, like dozens of others from the various delegations of the participating teams, until the Iranian team was forced to change its camp from the US state of Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, in addition to insulting many players from different teams in the method of inspection at the entry points and forcing some of them to undergo interrogations that extend for long hours, like the star of the Iraqi national team, Ayman Hussein.
Trump has tightened immigration policy since his return to the White House, which has alarmed a large number of fans wishing to go to the United States, even Somali ruler Omar Artan, who was named Africa's best ruler in 2025, was barred from entering the United States despite obtaining a visa, on the grounds that he was "connected to people suspected of belonging to terrorist organizations."
But it's not just Trump who is wreaking havoc, Infantino is also contributing to the experience of millions of fans of the game, with the fandom of some tickets angering fans who have filed complaints against FIFA.
Even Trump commented that he wouldn't "pay" $1,000, even to watch the United States. Infantino defended this dynamic pricing (the higher the demand, the higher the price), arguing that it reflects the "market" price. Because of the "greed" of the FIFA president with the huge financial returns that 104 games will generate, he considers to the 2026 World Cup as a triumph for Infantino's expansionism, who has not stopped working to amplify FIFA competitions.
With a staggering rise in ticket revenues, TV rights and sponsorships, it promises to increase FIFA's revenue by 72% in the 2023-2026 cycle compared to the previous cycle. For reasons of power and election, Infantino aims to satisfy an additional 16 federations by trying to include their teams in the World Finals, with the possibility of the 2030 World Cup with the participation of 64 teams.
It is expected to achieve profits of up to $13 billion, which it earns from broadcasting rights, advertising, sponsorship contracts, partnerships, and the sale of attendance tickets, with a basic condition on the host countries and cities, that FIFA will not impose any taxes from income, and that it will not compete in advertising during the World Cup period by those who are not a partner of FIFA, which forced the host cities, especially the United States, to declare a state of dissatisfaction, so what will they gain from bearing the expenses of hosting matches, transporting fans, and exhausting the infrastructure without revenues, so they were forced to Yes, it is the best World Cup in history, in terms of the number of teams, host cities and the crowd attendance, but not in terms of spirit and organization.
We did not even talk about the role of fluctuating weather conditions in confusing matches such as storms and tornadoes, not to mention the hot weather during the daytime matches, and the condition of the stadium floors, which many who participated in the Club World Cup last summer complained about, in addition to the timing of matches that will not suit our Arab world, and because of all this, 2026 may be "the worst best World Cup in history."
