The World Cup holds Trump's USA up to the mirror

WashingtonDespite Donald Trump, the men's soccer World Cup matches to be played in the United States are marked by uncertainty. The militarization of Democratic cities and images of ICE's para-police violence against citizens are imposed on the pristine security that the White House wants to sell. Less than a month before the first match on American soil, hotel bookings are far below expectations. A reality that FIFA President Gianni Infantino will hardly be able to mask by inventing a new trophy like the FIFA Peace Prize to feed Trump's ego.

The tournament, organized jointly with Mexico and Canada, is set in a very different United States than in 1994, when they hosted the competition for the first time. At that time, the fear of holding the World Cup in the land of the Super Bowl was that the men's soccer competition would flop. But the result was the complete opposite: the 15th edition of the FIFA World Cup broke attendance records and was an economic success for the country. Now, the report that the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) released at the end of May) warns that the tourism boom they projected will likely not materialize.

In the dozen cities that will host matches from coast to coast, bookings are projected to be low. In Kansas City, Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, nearly 80% of those surveyed by the AHLA report that the number of bookings is even lower than what is normally expected for summer. In New York, which along with New Jersey will host the final, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed also reported weaker bookings than expected.

In the report, the AHLA states that this reality does not match expectations and, among other factors, points to the current political context as responsible. Last year, a study published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) already projected a sharp drop in tourism to the US due to visa restrictions and cases of tourists detained for immigration. In May, the British Rebecca Burke told ARA that she was arrested in February 2025 when she was leaving the country. Since then, the list of affected people has only grown.

Within the framework of an event like the World Cup, which is usually an excuse to celebrate football's unifying power around the world, one of the host countries is at war with Iran. Not to mention that the US president has increased travel restrictions to the US for 48 countries, which are subject to total or partial entry bans. Most are African or Arab states. Even when the draw for the group stage was made, some delegations had problems obtaining visas for all their representatives.

The national team competition stands out because the number of participating teams has increased: from 32 countries in 2022 to 48 this year. Never before have so many national teams qualified to play in one of the major global world events. Paradoxically, citizens of several qualified countries are affected by the Trump administration's travel restrictions. Iran and Haiti are subject to total entry bans into the US, while Ivory Coast and Senegal face partial visa restrictions.

Last year, the State Department also imposed a deposit of up to $15,000 to process visas for fans from 50 countries who wanted to attend the matches. Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia, despite being qualified for the tournament, were part of this list. Now, in mid-May, the government backed down and announced that citizens of these five countries who already have tickets for the matches are exempt from having to pay the astronomical sum.

The shadow of ICE raids

opened the door to racial profiling arrestsThe terror campaign against the migrant population Trump's has focused on the Hispanic community. Currently, the chances of being arrested by immigration agents are almost the same for an undocumented person as for a US citizen of Latin American origin. Since the Supreme Court opened the door to racial profiling arrestsl, speaking in Spanish can be sufficient reason for ICE to arrest people on the street. A ProPublica investigation last year revealed that at least 170 citizens had been detained by ICE.

In an attempt to accelerate its plan for mass deportations, the administration has turned any space linked to the Latin American community into a place susceptible to being the target of raids. The danger is no longer just at workplaces or on road checks; schools, churches or any act that may concentrate Hispanic people are no longer safe. This logic also applies to a good part of the World Cup matches, where there is a fear that anti-immigration agents will take advantage of people leaving the stadium to carry out arrests. In fact, when in 2024 Argentina and Colombia faced each other in the final of the Copa América de selecciones in Miami, some incidents occurred with fans of both countries trying to enter the venue without tickets. Trump even cited those incidents in his speech against Hispanic immigrants.

Intimidation against Hispanics – who represent 20% of the US population– has unexpectedly backfired on the US president. The racial axis continues to shape American society, and if American football is the sport par excellence for whites, those who sustain football fandom in the US are Hispanics and the large Latin American diaspora. A good part of this is concentrated in some of the states where the matches are to be played, as is the case in California, New Jersey, New York, and Miami, where Lionel Messi is the big star of Inter Miami, a club owned by a lineage with Cuban roots.

FIFA, investigated over ticket prices

Added to the uncertainty and fear, the cost of being able to watch the matches adds even more obstacles. When pricing tickets, FIFA has adopted the type of dynamic system that airlines use when selling plane tickets. The price fluctuates according to real-time demand. The result is that a single ticket can easily cost more than $1,000, and that's in the best-case scenarios. Then you have to add the cost of flights and accommodation. In April, the New Jersey public transport system announced that it would charge fans up to $150 to go from Penn Station (New York) to the MetLife stadium on match days. Normally, the round trip costs around $13. In May, it lowered the price to $98.

In New York and New Jersey – where the final is being played – the attorneys general have already opened an investigation into the high cost and have announced that they will summon FIFA to appear and give explanations on how it sets the prices for the matches that will be played at the MetLife Stadium. Nominal price tickets for the final have soared to $10,990. Amidst the indignation, the socialist mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, had already announced an initiative to sell tickets to city residents for $50. He did so at an event attended by Timothy Weah, forward for the United States team and son of the great Liberian star of the 90s, George Weah. While some players like captain Pulisic or the coach of the United States, the Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, have praised Donald Trump, Weah prefers to go with Mamdani. The two Americas face to face within the same team, a selection that will try to play a worthy role in a tournament that has many sporting attractions, such as bidding farewell to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. This World Cup, however, will also be remembered for another man, Donald Trump, who at the last Club World Cup in 2025 already made it clear that he wants to be the protagonist of the event. He then came down to receive the trophy among the Chelsea players, as if he were an athlete. Now the whole world will be watching what he will do in the national team World Cup.