Mexico City activists stage ‘Anti-World Cup’ protest over gentrification fears: Video
Activists in Mexico City staged a football tournament in the Zocalo on Saturday, February 21, to protest what they described as a “World Cup of dispossession” ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Participants were seen playing with footballs bearing masks of US President Donald Trump and slogans such as “dispossession”, “resistance” and “FIFA go home”. Demonstrators said they were not opposing sport itself but what they view as the privatisation of public space and rising rents linked to preparations for the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada. Some warned that redevelopment near Estadio Banorte and surrounding areas could displace workers and residents, arguing that the benefits of hosting matches risk being outweighed by the social costs for local communities.
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