As the largest World Cup in history kicked off Thursday in Mexico City, security around the stadium colloquially known as Estadio Azteca was tight, with large numbers of security personnel containing groups of protesters before and during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
This tournament, with a record 48 participating teams, is co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It will be the first World Cup in which a country, in this case Mexico, has hosted for the third time. It will also be the first time a stadium has hosted the opening match for the third time.
Mexico is the favorite in this match against South Africa. The following 103 matches will be played across the continent, from Vancouver and Toronto to New York and Kansas City, and including Monterrey and Guadalajara.
A one-mile radius around the stadium was closed to vehicular traffic, so many people with tickets for the match had to walk the final stretch and were required to show their tickets or accreditation.
Once fans passed through security, the lines moved relatively quickly for a sporting event of this size. Fans and staff were asked to arrive very early, and many took this to heart, with some arriving as early as 6 a.m. for a match that was scheduled to start seven hours later.
The stands were quite full, with an overwhelmingly Mexican crowd singing traditional songs and chants. The fans erupted in a massive roar when the national team appeared on the giant screens as they stepped off the bus that had brought them to the stadium. They booed when the South African team took to the field before kickoff.
Aside from the excitement surrounding the game, unity has not been the prevailing sentiment among the three host countries, and the organization of this World Cup among neighbors and allies has not been flawless.
Since beginning his second term last year, President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Mexico and Canada with verbal attacks, threats of military action, and tariffs. The U.S. government has enacted a strict immigration policy that has barred some participants, journalists, and fans from entering the World Cup.
And just one day before the tournament began, Trump launched another economic attack on its co-hosts, threatening to let the free trade agreement signed by the three countries expire.
“We don’t need anything Canada has, we don’t need anything Mexico has, but they need everything we have,” Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office.
Beyond that, there has been widespread criticism of the cost of attending a tournament that was touted as inclusive. For the first time, FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, has implemented dynamic pricing, which has driven ticket prices to astronomical levels—when they can even be obtained.
Source: nytimes
