Love this.
There will be some cretins muttering under their breath, but groundbreaking players should be celebrated by all.
I’ve seen 9 of these 11 in action at SJP, starting with Mirandinha, which is an indictment of both my age and how long it took for black players to be accepted.
FIFA execs have ‘discussed the possibility’ of Infantino asking Trump for moratorium on World Cup ICE raids.
Unbelievably weak - 2 months out and the best FIFA have done is think about asking??
"Be more Francesca Albanese!!!"
Taking note of this admirable role model of vision, determination and sacrifice.
In The Guardian today: www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr...
World Cup tourists & fans beware: 3 World Cup host cities—Miami, Dallas, & Houston—already have 287(g) agreements with the Trump admin, empowering local police to conduct immigration enforcement activities (& to get reimbursed for the salaries & benefits of participating officers).
The data visualisation team at The Guardian has excelled itself today. Taking the newspaper onwards and upwards into the 1980s.
The 13 FIFA World Cup matches on Canadian soil are expected to cost at least CDN$1 billion in taxpayer money, according to a Radio-Canada investigation
Toronto original planned hosting costs: $30-45 mil; now estimated @ $380 mil+
Vancouver: $240 mil➡️$624 mil+
🍁💸
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Trump admin appears to be holding hostage the 2031 women's World Cup bid, refusing to offer guarantees (for visas, tax exemptions, safety, security) unless FIFA bans transgender women from soccer. FIFA is so disgusting it'll probably comply By @adamcrafton.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/717...
As everyone focuses on Trump and the U.S., Israel just continues committing war crimes with impunity.
When SNL UK started a few weeks back, I posted on here that there was no way it could work because SNL as a format is fundamentally flawed. Anyway, this sketch from the most recent show popped up on my YouTube feed, I decided to watch it and, fair play, it’s utterly superb.
youtu.be/OuSzG_DzVNo?...
None of this should be normalised and yet there is a sense that it has just been allowed to happen and will keep happening. Only body that has any real oversight of FIFA are the FAs, how many of them have ever spoken out? They are doing nothing for their publics to safeguard access to World Cup.
Several thousand dollars for a World Cup game from a host that made explicit promises to FIFA of the most expensive ticket being not much more than $1000, and that was at the final. None of the $20 tickets materialised. FIFA now in cahoots with profiteers. What is the point of it?
‘If you don’t count mass, preventable deaths of people in fires, you can argue there is little need to ensure people are safe from fires’
screenshot from an Amnesty International report that reads: "2025 The US government deported over 500,000 people including 230,000 arrested in the interior of the country and 270,000 at the border. This is more than six times as many people as we watch the World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey."
Important report from @amnesty.org "Humanity Must Win: Defending Rights, Tackling Repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup." Follow Amnesty International's @stevecockburn.bsky.social for ongoing human-rights analysis vis-a-vis the World Cup. www.amnesty.org/en/documents...
Amnesty International say US facing a "human rights emergency" ahead of World Cup, with ICE posing "chilling threat" to fans and even players, with new report also focusing on suppression of demonstrations in Canada and Mexico
www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
"The USA under President Trump ... is facing a human rights emergency marked by discriminatory immigration policies, mass detentions and arbitrary arrests by masked, armed agents"
Somebody needs to remind @amnesty.org that Football Unites the World.
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
"This World Cup is no longer the ‘medium risk’ tournament that FIFA once judged it to be… urgent action is needed to make sure the reality of this World Cup matches its original promise.”
- @stevecockburn.bsky.social / @amnesty.org
Read more⤵️
For more analysis and recommendations, please see our press release and full report here 👇
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
The image contrasts a woman being arrested by security officers in the USA with football fans from different nations watching a match. The words 'Fear' and 'Joy' are placed over the images.
There are just 10 weeks left. Millions of fans want to enjoy this tournament. But having one eye on the match and one eye on whether ICE is coming is no way to celebrate.
It’s time to act now and save the World Cup from being a stage for repression.
Stop the fear. Bring back the joy.
Posters that form part of a memorial to victims of enforced disappearances are seen in downtown Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, on February 9, 2026. Photo by Jesus Verdugo / AFP via Getty Images.
In Mexico, there have already been World Cup protests – and women seeking justice for disappeared loved ones will march to the Estadio Azteca for the opening match. There are fears that the massive mobilization of 100,000 security personnel – incl 20,000 military – will prevent peaceful protests.
A man protests against homelessness during the the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010. Local communities fear a repeat of the street sweeps and harassment of people experiencing homelessness at this World Cup. Photo by MARK RALSTON / AFP via Getty Images)
The risks are not just in the US.
In Vancouver, civil society groups fear that people experiencing homelessness will be displaced, harassed and cut off from services in efforts to ‘beautify’ the city for the tournament.
In Toronto, a homeless shelter has closed to make room for FIFA’s local HQ.
A German fan poses with a rainbow flag in front of the Munich Stadium before the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Group F match between Germany and Hungary at Allianz Arena on June 23, 2021 in Munich, Germany. Credit: Stefan Matzke/Getty Images)
The Trump Administration has also ramped up hate and discrimination towards LGBTQI+ people to the extent that fans’ groups in UK and Europe have said they do not feel safe to have a visible presence at the tournament.
See England's fan group statement here: www.instagram.com/p/DTiY95YiP5...
California National Guard personnel line up with riot shields in Los Angeles, in the face of anti-ICE protests in June 2025. Credit: Los Angeles Times
World Cup cities are in thick of this repression. Local law enforcement in Miami, Dallas and Houston have all signed agreements to cooperate with ICE to assist with detention and deportations.
The California National Guard was federalised in the face of anti-ICE protests in LA last year.
43 people have died in ICE detention between January 2025 and 18 March 2026
FIFA promises a World Cup that where everyone feels “safe, included and free to exercise their rights”.
But the sharp deterioration in the last 15 months means that the USA is facing a “human rights emergency” with mass deportations, deaths in detention and crackdowns on peaceful protest.
Over 500,000 people were deported from the USA in 2025 – six times more than will watch the World Cup final at the MetLife stadium in July.
Our new report today outlines the real risks to fans and communities that FIFA and host governments must urgently address. 👇
www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...
🧵Toronto’s Mayor Olivia Chow put forward a motion to the City Council to block involvement from ICE during the #FIFAWorldCup
www.insidethegames.biz/articles/ice...
you're onto a winner! Send it to Huel...
Excellent stuff. The Huel offer always seems to be 'Take away the joy of lunch by pouring nutritious tar into your stomach, so you can get back to work quicker'.
Future products may involve compressing sleep, speeding up your moments looking at nature, and automating reading on the loo.
Just been approached by Huel to see if I'll be part of their paid influencer campaign. I don't think they're quite across what I do for a living. (FWIW, and in the interests of having influence, I regard Huel as a soul destroying, miserable product and the death of all that is worth living for.)
It is a shameful day for the Olympic movement - the IOC is going to become the 'gender police' with mandatory sex testing and blanket bans on transgender and DSD athletes. Politically driven, one-size-fits-all rules that ignore rights and fuels wider social discrimination.
🧵“The Saudi Arabian government is actively seeking to have this ILO Complaint buried. However, despite some recent legal reforms, #SaudiArabia’s kafala sponsorship system has not been effectively dismantled", @stevecockburn.bsky.social
Statement ILO's 356th Session
www.amnesty.org/en/documents...