Infantino Defends 2026 World Cup in Open Letter to Critics

FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the 2026 World Cup in an open letter published on Monday, July 27, rejecting criticism of the tournament and saying it had delivered unity, safety and inclusion.

Infantino accused detractors of spreading false narratives and argued that they had overlooked the experience of supporters during the competition, which Spain won after matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He said FIFA had delivered a safe tournament and told critics to “meditate and pray,” according to reports carried by The Guardian and Sky Sports.

The letter addressed several disputes that followed the tournament. These included US visa restrictions affecting participants from some countries, the treatment of Iran’s national team during a period of conflict with the United States, and the suspension of an automatic one-match ban for US forward Folarin Balogun. Infantino argued that disciplinary adjustments of that kind also occur in major domestic leagues.

The intervention is likely to prolong scrutiny of FIFA’s handling of access, discipline and political pressure around the tournament. Infantino’s broad claim that the event passed without violence or incidents was presented as his assessment in the letter, not as an independently established finding.