FIFA’s Boss Showed Up to Mexico City and Told Us Everything Was Fine. It Isn’t.
On the eve of the most controversial World Cup in modern history, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stood before cameras in Mexico City on Wednesday and did what he does best — talked his way around the truth. Visa blockades are stranding fans. A Somali referee was turned back at the border. Tickets are selling for $30,000. And Infantino’s answer to all of it? A rehearsed monologue and a stat about $60 tickets.
The $60 Ticket Trick
Let’s be clear about what Infantino actually said: “Our entry price, which is 60 dollars, is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the play-off phases.” That’s the defence. A handful of budget tickets buried under a pricing structure that, at its premium corporate peak, hits $30,000 per seat.
This is the World Cup — football’s supposed gift to the world, the sport that belongs to the streets of Nairobi, Lagos, and Mombasa. Not to hedge fund managers in hospitality suites. The $60 ticket talking point isn’t a solution. It’s an insult dressed up as a statistic.
A Referee Turned Away at the Border
FIFA came to Wednesday’s press conference with three pre-prepared talking points — a tell in itself. One of those points was forced on them by a scandal they could no longer ignore: Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a top African referee from Somalia, was denied entry to the United States and sent home.
Think about what that means. A man selected by football’s global governing body to officiate at the sport’s biggest stage was turned away — not for anything he did, but because of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Iranian team officials and thousands of international fans have faced the same wall.
Infantino offered no accountability. No anger. Just careful words from a man who has made his peace with power.
Infantino Hearts Trump
On the subject of the US president whose policies are actively blocking fans and officials from attending the tournament, Infantino was not critical. He was effusive.
“Without his direct engagement and involvement, I think it would have been, simple as that, completely impossible to organise a World Cup in the United States,” Infantino said. Trump, for his part, confirmed he plans to attend multiple matches and told the world that Infantino personally rang him to say “there’s never been anything close to the success of this coming tournament.”
Two powerful men, congratulating each other, while a Somali referee sits at home.
Mexico Is Already Pushing Back
Outside the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday, something more honest than any press conference was happening. Thousands of protesters blocked a major avenue leading to the stadium, met by heavy lines of riot police. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called it a “provocation” and insisted the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday would go ahead.
It probably will. The spectacle will be spectacular. But the protests are a reminder that not everyone in this host nation is celebrating — and that the World Cup’s glossy surface has cracks running deep beneath it.
What This Tournament Is Really About
The 48-team FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, is the biggest in the tournament’s history. Infantino has sold it as expansion for the sake of inclusion — more nations, more stories, more football.
But inclusion means nothing when the fans who care most cannot get visas. When the officials you select are turned back at borders. When the cheapest ticket to watch your national team requires a month’s salary in most African countries.
Infantino deflected every hard question on Wednesday. He smiled. He praised Trump. He cited the $60 ticket. He moved on.
Young Kenyans watching this from home — fans who will never see the inside of a World Cup stadium at these prices — deserve to know exactly what kind of organisation is running the sport they love. Wednesday’s press conference told you everything.
