From the Oval Office, to the FIFA Peace Prize presentation and FIFA’s presence at the Israel-Gaza ceasefire talks, news media has cast a concerned light on the evolving fraternity between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump. Less publicized, but no less ostentatious, was a Las Vegas ceremony where Infantino, with Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang, revealed FIFA’s AI Innovations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In this discussion we will consider the ever-evolving relationship between FIFA, fascism, and (digital) technology. We will explore how sport mega events have long operated as spaces of technofascist experimentation, where state- and FIFA-led digital infrastructures sort people, police communities, and ‘innovate’ new sport-military tech. I’ll focus on three different ‘spaces’ of sport-tech innovation: the sporting field; the stadium; and the local security force. We’ll then have a more general discussion of policing, security, and migration concerns associated with this 2026 FIFA World Cup – unprecedented for being hosted across three countries (Mexico, the United States, and Canada). Together we’ll consider how the World Cup participates in sportwashing, and shed light on some of the organizations and movements that are working against this (techno)fascism.