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FIFA President Gianni Infantino still hopes to play scheduled FIFA World Cup matches in Mexico this summer, despite the rampant cartel violence that has plagued the region.
The cartel violence followed the death of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted fentanyl kingpin, was captured and killed Sunday after authorities tracked his romantic partner to a secret meeting location last weekend. He had a US$15 million reward after rising to power following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, former head of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Oseguera Cervantes was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and since his death violence has spread throughout the country where at least 70 people have been murdered.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a press conference on the 2026 soccer World Cup on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
But Infantino said he has “full confidence” in the scheduled games, including the June games at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Jalisco’s largest city, which has been hit hard by cartel violence.
There are four matches scheduled in Guadalajara and 13 total matches in Mexico, with Mexico City and Monterrey also hosting during the World Cup. The first games are on June 11 in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
“No one has to move anything,” Infantino told the Miami Herald. “We are in constant contact with the presidency of Mexico, with the authorities. We have full confidence in the authorities of Mexico, in the president [Claudia] Sheinbaum and his team. We fully support them because we live in a world where things happen. Good things and bad things, situations happen. We don’t live on the moon, we live here. We have to face it, we have to face it.
Infantino added that FIFA is “monitoring the situation, of course.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum holds a press conference from the National Palace in Mexico City on October 2. (AP/Fernando Llano)
“Mexico is a football country. And the Mexicans, the authorities and also the people will do everything possible to guarantee that the World Cup, but also the playoffs, are a celebration of football.”
Sheinbaum also said he has “every guarantee” that the World Cup will take place and that there is “no risk” for fans thinking about traveling to matches in the country.
Mexico will also host a World Cup playoff match next month facing Jamaica on March 26.
Football in the country has already been affected by violence, with four matches postponed on Sunday.
“The games are at the end of March, so we still have another month to see what happens; but, to be honest, it makes me very nervous,” Michael Ricketts, president of the Jamaican Football Federation, said in a statement published by the New York Post. “We will be attentive to CONCACAF and FIFA giving us instructions [on] whether they are playing or whether they are immediately looking for other options.
The capture and subsequent death of Oseguera Cervantes marks one of Mexico’s most significant blows to drug trafficking and organized crime since President Donald Trump called for intensifying the fight against cartel violence.
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