Human rights concerns swirl around World CupAFP, LONDONAmnesty International warned this summer’s World Cup, spread across three North American countries and beginning in June, risks becoming a “stage for repression” in a report published Monday. The London-based human rights organization’s report, titled Humanity Must Win, called on FIFA and host countries Canada, Mexico and the US to take urgent action to protect fans, players and other communities. Photo: APAmnesty described the US as facing a “human rights emergency” under US President Donald Trump’s presidency, marked by mass deportations, arbitrary arrests and “paramilitary-style” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. “While FIFA generates record revenues from the 2026 World Cup, fans, communities, players, journalists and workers cannot be made to pay the price,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty’s head of economic and social justice. “It is these people — not governments, sponsors or FIFA — to whom soccer belongs, and their rights must be at the center of the tournament,” he said.
