World Cup 2026 Preview: Mirrors And Churches

Eight years is a long time. That's how long it's been minus three days since North America was awarded the 2026 World Cup. A pandemic, wars, radical social and economic upheaval all involving the United States alone means the lives of a nation and world aren't the same today as they were upon the announcement.

As such the cynicism around this year's event is at an all-time high. Every day has a new horror, with the most recent being Africa's best referee Omar Artan being denied US entry in Miami five days before the tournament. Before that it was Iran's national team losing support staff members because the US denied them visas.

Those are just two of dozens of stories depriving fans in general, US fans in specific, of their exuberance about soccer's grandest event. FIFA's promotion of a game for all is undercut when everyone faces an unfair barrier to entry. A game that requires only a ball and open space being polluted by capitalist greed, politicized/institutionalist racism, and embedded corruption sours even the most jubilant footy fan.

It's another example of what has been true for a long time: the World Cup and FIFA's involvement is a mirror to what is happening in modern world society. In 2018 it was Russia, a nation in a dictator's grasp with numerous allegations of malfeasance trying to sports wash its way back onto the scene.

2022 it was Qatar, featuring more credible bribery allegations along with modern slavery for migrant workers building the host venues. All of it was distasteful, poisoning once again an event intended for generating joy. FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his cronies are on a generational run of stomping on supporter's dreams leading into the tournament.

Brazil destroyed countless natural habitats for stadiums that now sit decaying in the jungle. South Africa's apartheid history is well known. Germany, Japan, France, Italy, go back as far as you want. No matter where the World Cup is held, what you end up seeing is the worst of its hosts. That won't change with the three Mediterranean nations in 2030 and especially Saudi Arabia in 2034.

FIFA's role as mirror remains undefeated, exposing citizens and fans to the worst of its partners. There's every reason to believe that we're in the middle of a generational run of the sport's most prominent governing body suffocating its greatest accomplishment year by year. That in so many years the World Cup could cease to exist some believe.

Fortunately for the corrupt powers leading this homicidal charge, there's something which cuts through the cynicism without fail: the game itself.

If FIFA is a mirror, soccer itself is a church. A temple for all who enjoy and worship the beautiful game, welcoming of all who enter through its doors with every opening whistle. Cathedrals of all sizes, shapes, and locations welcome congregations for their weekly gatherings of spherical worship.

The game at its best is the ultimate equalizer. From the poorest nations to world superpowers, from five years old playing YMCA to Champions League finals at Europe's biggest venues, to now even opportunities for differently able athletes: now more than ever soccer is for everyone. Despite those at the top's efforts, its everyone else keeping this wonderful tradition alive.

Everyone fits inside the game, good and bad, because of a simple axiom: churches aren't museums for saints, they're refuges for sinners. The best sit alongside the worst in its pews, worshipping maybe for different reasons but at the same alter. They enter for one purpose, then exit back into the world left to their own individual devices.

Like churches, soccer has its own denominations. Wherever you go people practice in different ways. Some love that patient build up, others a physical brawl reminiscent of pro wrestling. Others build from within their community exclusively, while others welcome players from all corners of the globe. Mega churches like Man City and Real Madrid exist alongside community tabernacles like Brackley Town and FC Pesch.

Names like Ferguson, Cruyff, and Guardiola shaped the game through their teaching, providing new and old believers alike fresh takes on the age old ideas of the game. Names like Maradona, Messi, Pele, Beckenbauer, and Henry ring out as saints of the sport, followed by scores as messengers and of the sport's possibilities.

All of this is the light that cuts through the darkness. When the players line up, the whistle blows, that light is too powerful. By the time Mexico and South Africa have first kick in Mexico City, that potential cynicism will turn into kinetic excitement. These forty days of the glorious game will do what it does best: enrapture, excite, and enchant us.

That doesn't mean your heart shouldn't be troubled by what's around you. Quite the opposite. This infectious energy of soccer should further motivate you to make this world as beautiful as the game. Take that ninety minute feeling and contribute to your community, help a friend, or work to make the system a little bit more fair. Let soccer inspire you to improve the world in the game's image.

Make no mistake about it, FIFA's mirrors aren't going away. The world and its places will still feature horrors and unpleasantness. If we channel that which the game gives us, as a community of people, together we can make that image closer to what we create instead of what they destroy.