Tag: City ‘Cleansing’
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DeFIFA: Sports, Policing, and Incarceration at the Men’s World Cup in Seattle (Part 2)
-by Cameron Michels, Deepa Sivarajan, and Leslie McCallum *This is an excerpt from writing originally posted here – in this version we offer a more historical perspective, emphasizing FIFA as a mechanism for surveillance capitalism, within and beyond Seattle. [“Fight the Impacts” art created by Protect Our Pitch 206] The Stadium-to-Prison Pipeline The modern specter of stadiums becoming prisons…
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DeFIFA: Sports, Policing, and Incarceration at the Men’s World Cup in Seattle (Part 1)
-by Cameron Michels, Deepa Sivarajan, and Leslie McCallum *This is an excerpt from writing originally posted here – in this version we offer a slightly more focused account of FWC26 Seattle, emphasizing the colonial-carceral logics underpinning its infrastructure and staging. [“Defend the CID” art created by Protect Our Pitch 206 ] Introduction We are three friends and sports fans living in known-to-settlers-as Seattle,…
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A Technofascist World Cup? Part III: Policing the Perimeter
-by Carolyn Prouse Algorithmic Policing Beyond the Stadium For the World Cup it is not just data but surveillance technology itself that seeps out of the sports stadium into its surrounds. In the first post for this series I discussed how digital technologies are mediating (and even harming) the game we love and, for the…
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A Technofascist World Cup? Part II: Smart Stadium Surveillance
-by Carolyn Prouse Croatia was a hair away from potentially sending Portugal packing in the round of 32 when a VAR-decision called the goal back: apparently the sensor in the Trionda had picked up a slight signal of a hair brushing the ball, rendering the play offside. There has been a lot of controversy, and…
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Know Your Rights: Tkaronto / Toronto
This resource provides information about your legal rights during the FIFA World Cup 2026. It is not legal advice. If you require assistance with a legal issue, please consult a qualified lawyer. We are also seeking feedback and comments, particularly from people with experience navigating interactions with law enforcement during the World Cup. If you…
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I was arrested in a prostitution sting. Why I’m worried for sex workers as the World Cup begins
Photo above: courtesy of Antonia Crane By: Antonia Crane, originally published by LA Local In this essay, Crane reflects on the intensifying criminalization of sex work in Los Angeles in the lead-up to major global events – including the FIFA World Cup 2026, the 2027 Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympics – and the heightened policing already being experienced…
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Protests Mount in Mexico
FIFA has faced mounting pressure in Mexico City and Guadalajara for the ways that the World Cup is intensifying policing and gentrification. Collectives searching for their disappeared relatives have taken the streets in both cities, and sex worker groups and associations are calling attention to the heightened displacement, evasive tactics, loss of income, and violence…
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Vancouver’s Pivot Legal Society 2nd blog post: What has FIFA’s Human Rights Framework Amounted to? – Part 2
-by Pivot Legal Society in Vancouver, BC; reposted with permission – access original here Just two weeks ahead of the first 2026 World Cup match, Vancouver released its final FIFA Human Rights Action Plan. The Plan, dated May 25, 2026, updated a February draft that Pivot and a coalition of allied organizations had heavily criticized. Though the…
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Beyond the World Cup Noise in Toronto: Anti-FIFA Voices Make Themselves Heard
Photo above: Organisers from Reclaim the Game take control of a street for a football free from FIFA. Credit: Reclaim the Game By: Priyansh On the opening matchday of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto, it was a noisy downtown. While any resident in the area would tell you bursts of blaring sounds is…
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The Potential Impact of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Parkdale, Toronto
(Photo above: © Jason S. Cipparrone, Sheltered Perspective Films 2026) By Claudia Vergara, Rhiannon Cobb, Isra Iqbal, Adam Ehsan Ali As Toronto prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Parkdale neighbourhood, which is directly adjacent to the host stadium BMO Field is likely to disproportionately experience its impacts and outcomes, including increased displacement,…