FIFA President Gianni Infantino will talk to the media on Wednesday, just before the World Cup starts. Many issues have come up as the tournament approaches.
Infantino is expected to answer difficult questions about high ticket prices and a strict immigration policy. This policy has kept a top referee, fans, and team officials from entering the United States, which is one of the co-hosts.
The FIFA head will hold a rare press conference in Mexico City. Mexico will play South Africa on Thursday in the opening match at the Estadio Azteca.
The 2026 men’s World Cup is set to feature 48 teams. This makes it the largest tournament in the event’s history, with games also happening in Canada.
But the refusal of US immigration officials to let Somali referee Omar Artan into the country shows worries that Donald Trump’s immigration rules could harm the football event. Artan said the “biggest dream of my life” was taken from him when he was stopped at the US border.
“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told The New York Times. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”
Artan, who won the 2025 men’s referee of the year by the Confederation of African Football, would have been the first Somali referee at a World Cup. He shared that he went through an 11-hour interview with border officials at Miami International Airport. After that, he was held for several more hours before being sent back to Turkey.
“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” he said. A Somali government advisor confirmed this claim to AFP.
A US State Department official told AFP that the referee was “associated with suspected members of terrorist organisations,” which made him “ineligible for admission to the United States.”
Artan returned home to a hero’s welcome in Mogadishu. He promised to be part of the next tournament in 2030. “I will be at the next World Cup and will continue to make Somalia proud… Despite what has happened to me, I am not discouraged,” Artan told over 100 supporters and journalists at Mogadishu’s main airport.
At the same time, there are worries that the opening event in Mexico City could be affected by social unrest. Protesters blocked a road leading to the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday. Police formed lines to keep the demonstrators away from the stadium.
Thousands joined the protest after a week of action that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called a “provocation.” Sheinbaum has said that the opening match is “guaranteed,” but she also ruled out using police force against the demonstrations.
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