The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the largest mega-sporting event in history, jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, featuring 48 teams, more than 100 matches, and an unprecedented movement of people, capital and global supply chains. In Mexico, authorities in Mexico City (CDMX) have publicly acknowledged that hosting the World Cup will pose significant challenges related to security, mobility, housing, labour and human rights, particularly given the expected surge in tourism, temporary employment and internal and cross-border migration flows.

From a human rights perspective, the 2026 World Cup presents well-documented structural risks associated with mega-events for Mexico, Canada and the United States. These include labour rights violations in highly precarious sectors such as construction, hospitality, cleaning, private security, transportation and temporary services, where migrant workers are disproportionately represented and frequently exposed to subcontracting, informality, low wages and the absence of effective grievance and remedy mechanisms.

Local authorities and civil society organisations have also raised concerns about the heightened risk of sexual violence, trafficking and exploitation, particularly affecting women, girls, adolescents and migrant populations, in contexts marked by mass tourism, increased demand for services and the expansion of informal economies. Evidence from previous mega-events shows that, without strong preventive measures, these risks tend to intensify, especially in settings characterised by gender inequality and institutional weaknesses.

The regional political context further exacerbates these challenges. The potential strengthening of restrictive migration policies in the United States, particularly under a possible Trump administration, could significantly increase the vulnerability of migrants involved directly or indirectly in the World Cup economy, both within supply chains and in event-related services. This includes heightened risks of labour exploitation, family separation, arbitrary detention and limited access to justice and effective remedy.

In this context, the 2026 World Cup represents a critical test for the effective implementation of human rights due diligence by FIFA, host governments and the companies involved. Integrating robust measures to protect labour rights, prevent sexual violence, safeguard migrant populations and ensure accessible grievance and remedy mechanisms is not optional—it is essential to prevent the event from deepening existing inequalities. If addressed responsibly, the World Cup can become an opportunity to set higher human rights standards and leave a positive legacy across the region; if not, it risks reproducing and amplifying patterns of abuse that have been widely documented in previous mega-events.