16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 14-20, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com End Goal Soccer belongs to the people. As the World Cup approaches, activists are fighting to keep it that way. By Brian Dolinar FORUM With World Cup soccer matches fast approaching, FIFA is engaged in price gouging for front-row seats. In New Jersey, the transit authority is charging exorbitant rates for transportation and parking. Beyond the mistreatment of fans, the games are being protested by activists who are putting a spotlight on the growing inequalities in their communities. Anyone who follows soccer is aware that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is no stranger to scandal. In 1978, the dictatorship in Argentina likely fixed a World Cup match; vote-rigging in 2018 hoisted Sepp Blatter to the FIFA presidency; and Qatar gave million-dollar payouts to FIFA executive committee members in order to win the right to host the World Cup in 2022. The organization invited further criticism when, on Dec. 5, it awarded the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to President Donald Trump. Across the U.S., FIFA promoters and city boosters are working to capitalize on the games, but communities are making sure that they benefit, too. Activists are working together to ensure that the World Cup lives up to its promise of making soccer a force for good. Miami is expecting to welcome tens of thousands of fans from around the world. Given Florida’s embrace of Trump’s war on immigrants, a coalition of human rights groups has put out a travel advisory for visitors to the World Cup games that warns, “Florida is no longer a safe destination for international tourists…travelers may face unprecedented risks of racial profiling, wrongful detention in inhumane conditions without consular access, and heinous human rights violations—regardless of legal travel status.” In Atlanta, Play Fair ATL has brought together about 30 organizations to ensure the World Cup games there will “benefit—not criminalize—Atlanta communities.” “Our coalition, we’re big soccer fans. We love the game. We want the World Cup to happen. We just don’t want it to happen to people. We want it to happen with people,” says Michael Collins, director of Play Fair ATL. The World Cup in Atlanta is estimated to generate $1 billion in revenue, but the city is expecting to only make $4 million. “We’re paying for this World Cup, but we’re not benefiting from it,” Collins says. In Los Angeles, the games will take place at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the newest and most expensive World Cup venue. For many LA residents, the stadium symbolizes the gentrification of Black and Latino neighborhoods. There are 2,000 workers at the newly built SoFi Stadium, including bartenders, servers, cooks and dishwashers. Unite Here Local 11 filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against operators of the SoFi Stadium and FIFA, seeking a commitment to have no ICE officers in the games. “FIFA is the power of these games,” says Kurt Petersen, union co-president. “So it’s really about FIFA deciding whether or not ICE is good for the games.” Brian Dolinar is an independent journalist. This story was originally published in The Nation. OPINION “We’re paying for this World Cup, but not benefiting.”
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