With its new changed format, FIFA Club World Cup, hitherto known as FIFA World Champions Cup, got officially kicked off on Saturday with Lionel Messi’s side and the host team Inter Miami ending up with a goalless draw against the Egyptian side Al Ahly.
The FIFA club world championship, inaugurated in 2000, is happening with considerable modifications this time, including an increase in the total number of teams, rising from the hitherto 7 to featuring 32 teams across six different continents.
The Club World Cup was previously an annual event, but the new format occurs every four years, starting this year, making it a major global event akin to the FIFA World Cup. A massive prize pool that amounts to more than one billion US dollars has been established, making it the highest ever for a club championship to date.
The present edition of this major tournament, starting from June 14th, is happening in multiple venues across the US, with the showdown scheduled to take place at the MetLife Stadium, the same venue that is expected to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
Despite the high amount spent on marketing and glamorising the existing structure of the tournament, the immigration and repatriation policies of the Trump administration are casting a shadow over the event, with fears of ICE presence at stadiums, restricted fan access, and a less inclusive tournament.
On June 4, President Trump signed a proclamation restricting the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats. The proclamation stated that the new policy would be effective from 9th June. The countries affected by this new proclamation are mainly black and Muslim majority countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Apart from this, the entry of people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will also be partially restricted. In a video posted on X, Trump declared that “We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm”, and added that the list could be revised by adding new countries.
Earlier this week, reports suggest that the Trump administration is considering a move that could nearly triple the number of countries subject to a travel ban. Up to 36 additional nations could be added to the list of 19 that were placed under full or partial restrictions earlier this month.
During his first term in office, Trump imposed a similar ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The tension among the immigrant fans began to escalate when the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entrusted with dealing with the illegal migration and infamous for their ‘zero tolerance policy’ under the trump regime involving the abrogation of civil rights, cross border shooting and strict immigration enforcement, openly promoting its role at the FIFA’s big event for the past few months under the hashtag #CBPxFIFA. In a now deleted Facebook post that engendered thousands of interactions, they stated that their agents would be “suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games”.
Adding to the rising concerns amid the Trump administration’s deportation events and clampdown on migrant rights, the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that ICE and CBP officers will be present at the Club World Cup fixtures. The ICE later sent a reminder that “all non-American citizens need to carry proof of their legal status” when attending the games.
Amid the rising concerns, FIFA faces severe backlash over the sluggish stadium attendance. Except for a few matches, much of the stadiums remained out cold, with more than half of the seats staying vacant. Chelsea’s opening game against Los Angeles FC drew only 22,000 fans in a stadium that has a seating capacity of 75,000. In response to the fatigued response in ticket sales, FIFA has introduced aggressive price cuts, and there were reports stating tickets were sold to college students for as little as 20 dollars with an offer of buy one, get four.
Despite the allegation against FIFA for collaborating with authoritarian regimes, FIFA president Gianni Infantino dismissed all the accusations and stated they “don’t have any concerns”.
Citing “grave concerns” over the treatment of immigrants, Human Rights Watch urged FIFA last month to reconsider allowing the US to host the World Cup. Netizens also expressed their outrage over FIFA’s alliance with the trump administration and called for a boycott of the tournament.
