The geopolitical significance of the FIFA 2026 World Cup and the erosion of American universalism
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was conceived as the ultimate celebration of football’s global reach. For the first time in history, forty eight national teams will compete in a tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, creating the largest and most geographically expansive World Cup ever organized.
Paul T. Shipale (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was conceived as the ultimate celebration of football’s global reach. For the first time in history, forty eight national teams will compete in a tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, creating the largest and most geographically expansive World Cup ever organized.
On paper, the event represents the triumph of globalization. More nations will participate, more supporters will travel, and more audiences than ever before will share in football’s most celebrated spectacle.
Yet as the tournament approaches, a profound contradiction is becoming increasingly visible.
The country hosting the majority of matches is also a country where immigration, border security, and international mobility have become deeply contested political issues.
This reality raises a question that extends far beyond football: Can a World Cup truly remain universal when access to it is mediated by one of the most unequal features of the modern international system – the ability to cross borders?
This is not merely an administrative challenge.
It is a geopolitical question touching on sovereignty, legitimacy, globalization, soft power, and the evolving structure of international order in the twenty-first century.
Football and the promise of universality
