The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is expected to be the biggest and richest sports tournament ever. In just two months, the FIFA Club World Cup will start in the United States, acting as an important warm-up for next year’s big event.
However, FIFA has not set up a clear and complete plan to keep kids safe. Without strong safety measures, millions of kids who attend, take part in, or live near these events could be at serious risk. Keeping children safe should be a main responsibility, not something they think about later, especially at these big events.
FIFA’s Broken Promises on Child Safeguarding for 2026 World Cup
In 2018, FIFA awarded the hosting rights for the 2026 World Cup to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. As part of that deal, FIFA introduced a Human Rights Strategy that included a promise to develop and implement child safeguarding protocols. These protocols were meant to address risks such as trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, and family displacement across the 16 host cities.
However, seven years later, FIFA has yet to fulfil its obligations. There are no written safety procedures in place. Human rights organisations have raised concern that FIFA has violated its promised human rights responsibilities. Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said that FIFA has neither hired child protection officials nor established a reporting mechanism to track abuse across sites.
Without FIFA’s leadership, local municipalities may be forced to spend their own money to implement safety measures. Cities like Philadelphia, one of the host locations, are already juggling preparations for the World Cup, along with other major events like the nation’s 250th birthday, and the MLB All-Star Game. Child safety cannot be left up to chance or local budgets — it demands immediate and centralized action from FIFA itself.
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Major Risks to Child Safety at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Major international sporting events, including the World Cup and the Olympics, come with predictable risks for children. These risks include human trafficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, kidnappings, and displacement from family homes. Large crowds, temporary accommodations, and increased demand for labor create perfect conditions for criminal activities targeting vulnerable populations.
Children attending games, living in host communities, or working at related events are particularly at risk. Without safeguarding protocols, there is no centralized way to report or address abuse. Moreover, gaps in domestic laws across the United States, Canada, and Mexico make consistent protection even more complicated.
Experts stress that the larger and more spread out the event is, the higher the risks become. With matches taking place across three countries and 16 different cities, FIFA must ensure that child safety measures are uniform, strong, and consistently enforced everywhere.
How FIFA Can Protect Children at the 2026 World Cup?
The “Keeping the Game Safe” report by the University of Miami School of Law Human Rights Clinic, and the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, outlines concrete steps FIFA must take.
First, FIFA must implement mandatory safeguarding training for all event staff, volunteers, and officials. Everyone working at World Cup venues must know how to recognize and respond to signs of abuse or exploitation.
Second, FIFA needs to create child protection rules that every host city must follow. This means they must hire trained safety officers in each city to handle any problems in the right way.
Third, there should be one easy-to-use reporting system. Victims and witnesses need to know exactly where and how to report abuse, and the system should be simple for everyone to use.
Also, stadiums and event spaces should be designed with children’s safety in mind, with safe areas and protection against forced work or abuse. FIFA should also work closely with victims’ groups, local experts, and child protection organizations when building and checking the safety system.
Existing FIFA programs, like the FIFA Guardians safeguarding framework, already aim to help football organizations prevent and respond to abuse. However, these tools must not remain symbolic. FIFA must actively apply them to the 2026 World Cup at a structural and operational level.
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