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The HinduJune 11, 2026

​Sport during a war: On the FIFA World Cup 2026

No showpiece event of a sport has lived up to its billing quite like the

FIFA World Cup

. The 2026 edition, which kicks off on Thursday, offers proof. With

48 teams and 104 matches, it is the biggest ever. With roughly one in four FIFA member nations qualifying, and six of the seven continents represented, it is the most inclusive yet. From Oceania to North America, it wraps the whole universe. It is also the first time that three countries will be hosting the quadrennial extravaganza — the United States, Canada and Mexico. Top players in Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar have touched down, and so have coaches such as Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel. While Messi will aim for a repeat of Argentina’s trophy-winning exploits from 2022, Ronaldo will gun for Portugal’s first. Neymar, yet to win the coveted Cup, has a very heavy cross to bear, for he comes from the land of Pele and five-time champion Brazil. Kylian Mbappe’s France, titlist in 2018 and runner-up in 2022, remains strong. Spain, with the irresistible teenager Lamine Yamal in its ranks, is a favourite, and so are Germany and England to a lesser degree. But four-time winner Italy is absent, for a scarcely believable third straight occasion.

The World Cup also serves a purpose beyond the turf — of shrinking differences, uniting populations and promoting cross-cultural exchanges. In this, the latest instalment has stumbled badly. On Monday, it emerged that the

U.S. had denied entry to Somalian referee Omar Artan, the best men’s referee from Africa in 2025 and one of the 52 handpicked by governing body FIFA. There are credible reports of journalists being refused visas and squad members being questioned by immigration authorities. In an unfortunate turn, the military stand-off between the U.S. and Iran has forced the West Asian nation to camp in Mexico and travel to Seattle (more than 2,000 km away) and Los Angeles for its group-stage games. It is both a logistical nightmare and an affront to the core sporting tenet of a level-playing field for all teams. Fans are also rankled by the high ticket costs, limited public transport facilities and steep visa fees. That a travel-intensive competition is being held amidst a disruption in global fuel supplies and spike in energy prices is not lost on anyone. These concerns will likely dissipate once Mexico and South Africa set the ball rolling at the majestic Estadio Azteca. However, it is essential to reflect and learn in order to chart a more inclusive future.

Key GK Takeaways for CLAT
  • 1The episode underlines that immigration and entry of foreigners remain core attributes of state sovereignty, which no sporting body can override. In India, the parallel framework is the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and in Hans Muller of Nurenburg v. Superintendent, Presidency Jail (1955) the Supreme Court affirmed the government's near-absolute power to refuse or expel foreigners. Any future Indian bid to host mega-events, such as the proposed 2036 Olympic bid, would require statutory guarantees of entry for accredited participants.
  • 2The United States-Iran military stand-off spilling into the World Cup shows how geopolitics routinely penetrates sport, despite claims of its neutrality. History offers clear precedents: the United States-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the Soviet-bloc boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games each drew over fifty nations into Cold War signalling. For CLAT preparation, remember that sport is a recognised instrument of soft power and sanctions, as seen again when Russian teams were suspended from FIFA competitions in 2022.
  • 3FIFA's own constitution, particularly Article 4 of the FIFA Statutes, prohibits discrimination against any country or person on grounds of ethnic origin, nationality or political opinion, and violations can attract suspension or expulsion. Host nations also sign binding hosting agreements guaranteeing visas for accredited players, officials and media, and disputes in international sport are adjudicated by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. The denial of entry to a FIFA-appointed referee therefore raises questions of breach of these hosting obligations, not merely diplomatic discourtesy.
  • 4A 48-team, 104-match format makes the 2026 World Cup the largest single-sport event ever staged, with FIFA projecting record revenues that exceed the roughly 7.5 billion United States dollars earned in the 2022 cycle. Yet the editorial's reference to fuel-supply disruption and energy price spikes highlights the economics of mega-events, where costs of travel, security and infrastructure are increasingly questioned. Aspirants should connect this to the broader debate on whether mega-events deliver lasting economic benefits to hosts or mainly private gains to organisers.

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