Translated by Martina Ravasi
‘Framing the World’ is an analytical column that offers in-depth analysis of key trends in international politics. The column is organized by geographic regions —Asia, the Americas, Africa & MENA, and Europe—and each week features a thematic focus comprising several coordinated articles. The goal is to provide clear and accessible insights into major global developments through the collaborative work of the editorial team.
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Football and US migratory policies
The 2026 World Cup began a few days ago and was organised by the United States, Canada and Mexico jointly. However, this cooperation is already showing that international sport can’t be separated from politics. Indeed, even before the kick-off, some decisions linked to US migratory policies raised criticism and debates over the relation between sport and national security. In particular, the most discussed cases are the following.
The first one relates to the Somali referee Omar Artan. He was nominated by FIFA and is the first Somali referee in a World Cup ever. Although Artan had all the documentation necessary for his journey, when he landed in the United States he was halted and afterwards he was denied entering the country due to security reasons during customs controls. Therefore, FIFA had to exclude him from their referee list, thus raising protests and criticism by several sport organisations and international analysts. Once he came back to Somalia, Artan was celebrated as a national hero by his compatriots at the airport.
The second example relates to Iran. At the end of February 2026 a war between Iran and the US broke out. Due to diplomatic tensions between Washington and Teheran and restrictions to visas, the Iranian team couldn’t establish their headquarter in the US and they were forced to organize a training camp in Tijuana, Mexico. Footballers are allowed to enter the US exclusively to play matches and they must cross the border immediately once a match has finished. Furthermore, 15 members of the Iranian football association – including managers and staff members – had difficulties in obtaining visas.
On one hand, the United States claim their right to apply their customs norms thoroughly. On the other hand, there is an increasing concern that these restrictions may jeopardize the principle of universality, which is a typical feature of huge sport competitions such as football World Cups.
Giovanni Ferrazza
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