分类： sports

SEATTLE – For Ali Abdulla, the news that his youth soccer nonprofit would secure 20 complimentary tickets to a 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 match in Seattle felt like a once-in-a-lifetime gift. Most of the young athletes in his African Youth Sports Academy (AYSA) come from low-income immigrant households, with average tickets for the high-stakes match fetching close to $1,000 apiece – a price far out of reach for nearly all of the families the organization serves. Abdulla, a former semi-professional soccer player and Somali refugee, called the windfall the best news he had received in years.

The tickets were part of a 1,400-ticket community access program run by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s office and the local FIFA World Cup organizing committee. Abdulla had even helped promote the initiative, appearing in a social media campaign alongside a group of his academy’s young players, and the organization had already planned an intra-academy tournament to select 13 to 16-year-old players and their parent chaperones to attend the match. Everything seemed to be falling into place for a historic experience the kids would never forget.

That changed abruptly when the U.S. government barred Omar Artan from entering the country. Artan, who had already traveled to Miami for the tournament, was set to become the first Somali referee in history to officiate a FIFA World Cup match – a landmark milestone not just for Somalia, but for Somali communities across the globe. After the entry ban, FIFA removed Artan from its roster of tournament officials.

The news hit Seattle’s Somali community hard. Abdulla, who had been tapped to serve as a volunteer FIFA fan ambassador for the tournament, initially planned to resign from his ambassador role in solidarity. But when he shared his idea with AYSA’s parents and volunteer coaches, they proposed a bolder, more meaningful act of protest: give up the World Cup tickets entirely.

“They all sent a message saying, ‘We feel heartbroken, we feel betrayed,’” Abdulla told The Associated Press in an interview on June 12. “We don’t feel right to go celebrate while the only person in the history of our country (selected to referee the World Cup) is feeling pain and disappointed.”

Abdulla said he was deeply moved by the collective call to stand with Artan. “I felt so emotional when the parents said that, because to return a one-time opportunity for solidarity with our boy — that made me very proud to lead this organization,” he added. Even the young athletes who were in line to attend the match understood the importance of the decision. “The kids are very sad, man, very heartbroken,” Abdulla said. “We have to teach them to stand up for the right thing.”

City officials confirmed the tickets have been reallocated to another local community organization, declining further comment on AYSA’s decision. Hana Tadesse, a spokesperson for the local World Cup organizing committee, said the tickets were transferred to the Somali Health Board, another Seattle group that runs youth soccer programming. The Somali Health Board did not respond to requests for comment on Friday. The Seattle Times was first to report AYSA’s decision.

Abdulla, who works full-time as a transit security officer for Seattle’s light rail system and retired from semi-pro play with the Seattle Somali Stars in 2017, has stepped away from all of his World Cup-related volunteer roles. He says he will not even watch the tournament matches on television, and is instead turning his focus to another major community sporting event: the 28th annual Somali Week tournament, which he organizes after years of playing and coaching in the event. This August, Somali Week will bring teams from Canada, the United Kingdom, Minneapolis and other North American and European cities to Kent, a suburb of Seattle.

For Abdulla, the annual tournament embodies the unifying power of soccer that FIFA’s World Cup has failed to deliver for his community this year. The event draws hundreds of players of African heritage and beyond, he said, standing as a testament to what soccer can be when it lifts up marginalized communities rather than leaving them behind.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada gets underway, a high-profile eligibility dispute has emerged: Ghanaian star midfielder Thomas Partey has been barred from entering Canada, forcing him to miss the Black Stars’ opening group stage match against Panama in Toronto.

The 32-year-old Villarreal playmaker, who previously featured for English Premier League side Arsenal, was selected by Ghana for his second consecutive World Cup appearance. Partey currently faces seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault filed by four separate complainants over allegations that date back to the period between 2020 and 2022. He has formally pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his trial is scheduled to begin next year; he has not been convicted of any offense as of the tournament’s opening.

In an official statement confirming the development, global football governing body FIFA explained that Partey, who was with Ghana’s squad at their pre-tournament training base in Boston, had his visa application rejected by Canadian immigration authorities. “FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas,” the statement read. “The host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country.”

Under Canadian immigration regulations, individuals who have been charged with or convicted of criminal offenses may be deemed inadmissible to enter the country. Even though Partey has not been found guilty of any crime and is awaiting trial, the policy still led to his entry being blocked.

Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz, who selected Partey to the 2026 squad despite the pending legal issues, has stood firmly by his decision ahead of the tournament. “If the player is here with me, my answer is clear,” Queiroz said. “I don’t have any comments about my own decisions. He is here so what are we talking about? This is not for me or you to make a judgement about. Let the events run their normal course; let the river flow and one day when the river meets the ocean we are going to find the truth.”

While Partey will sit out Ghana’s opening clash, he remains eligible to feature in the team’s two remaining Group L matches, which will both be held on U.S. soil. Ghana is scheduled to face England at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on June 23, before taking on Croatia in Philadelphia four days later.

This is not the first instance of immigration issues affecting teams and officials ahead of the 2026 co-hosted World Cup. Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained for multiple hours of questioning at Chicago O’Hare International Airport before being granted entry to the U.S. Iran’s national team was forced to relocate their pre-tournament training base from the U.S. to Mexico, after multiple members of the Iranian delegation had their visa applications rejected, and hundreds of Iranian fans had their match tickets revoked. Separately, Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States, with a source from the former Trump administration citing his alleged “association with suspected members of terror organisations” as the reason for the ban.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup’s Group A opening match delivered far more than a three points for co-hosts Mexico, who wrapped up a comfortable 2-0 victory over South Africa at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca in a game marred by two red cards for Bafana Bafana, tactical criticism, and rising continental tension over South Africa’s recent anti-migrant violence.

South Africa’s match unraveled within the opening 10 minutes, when midfielder Sphephelo Sithole lost possession on the edge of his own penalty area, allowing Mexico to convert the early chance and take a 1-0 lead. The second half delivered more setbacks: Sithole was shown a red card, followed by a second dismissal for forward Themba Zwane in the 84th minute after a VAR review upgraded a potential foul to a straight red for violent conduct. The sending-off marked only the second time in World Cup history that an African side has had two players dismissed in their opening finals match, a statistic last recorded by Cameroon against defending champions Argentina in 1990 – a match the Indomitable Lions famously won 1-0, a result South Africa never came close to matching.

Former South African captain Dean Furman, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, described the performance as “a nightmare from start to finish.” He argued that no Bafana Bafana player could claim to have performed to their potential, saying “Mexico were in total control from minute one. They looked more assured, they were calm in possession. It was just turnover after turnover after turnover, and when you’re playing against quality opposition you get punished.”

On the contentious second red card, South Africa head coach Hugo Broos – the oldest coach at this year’s tournament at 74 – disputed the call, claiming Mexican winger Roberto Alvarado blocked Zwane and went down unnecessarily. However, Furman, who played alongside Zwane for several years, said the call was justified under modern rules: “I know it’s incredibly soft but it’s the modern game, you can’t lash out. It’s going to be an interesting World Cup if that’s what we’re giving red cards for but that is the game today. You can’t do that.”

South African captain Ronwen Williams acknowledged the disappointing result but sought to highlight his side’s resilience, even with two players down. “Obviously the opening game of the World Cup comes with so much emotion,” the 34-year-old said. “We knew they were going to have the atmosphere, the energy behind them and we didn’t want to concede in the opening few stages. And then that’s exactly what happened. As difficult as it was with two guys sent off, we didn’t give up. It shows the mentality that we have and the character that we kept fighting.”

Domestic fans in Johannesburg were far less forgiving. Relebogile Lairi called the performance a “very disappointing start,” saying supporters “expected a lot more from the boys” and blamed widespread “stage fright.” Nicholas Makomene criticized Broos’ defensive 5-3-2 setup, saying there was “no need to park the bus” against the co-hosts.

Beyond the pitch, the result exposed deep divides across the African continent, 16 years after South Africa made history as the first African nation to host the World Cup, a moment that unified the continent behind African teams. This year, many fans across Africa backed Mexico over South Africa, in response to recent anti-migrant protests and violence in South Africa that has led multiple African nations to repatriate their citizens. South African officials have condemned the violence and rejected accusations of xenophobia, but that has done little to ease tensions.

In Nairobi, Kenyan organizer Elisha Kamau held a “hate-watch” party that drew nearly 200 attendees, almost all of whom supported Mexico. “The second reason I think is just the timing of the xenophobic attacks. It depends who is playing South Africa, but I think most people would support the other team,” Kamau explained. Congolese fan Daniel Kaniki, watching from a fan park in Atlanta, echoed that sentiment: “Africa is like one country and if one is chasing others, we are not a family any more. That’s why I’m supporting Mexico.” Not all fans across the continent aligned with this view, however: Ghanaian fan Vanlare Quist said he rooted for South Africa, arguing that anti-immigrant sentiment was driven by a small minority of bad actors, not the entire nation.

Looking ahead, South Africa faces a must-win second Group A match against the Czech Republic on June 18. Both teams enter the fixture winless, after the Czechs dropped a 2-1 opening match result to South Korea. Furman is pushing for a major tactical shift, urging Broos to abandon the defensive 5-3-2 setup he used against Mexico in favor of the more attacking 4-3-3 formation that fits South Africa’s traditional style of play.

“They have to put this to bed very, very quickly,” Furman said. “I know you’re playing against better opposition in a big match and you’re probably looking to soak up the pressure and go a little bit more defensive, but that’s just not our style at all. For me, going forward, you’ve got two games left to save yourself, to try and get a victory to get yourself into the next round. Go with our 4-3-3. Put your attacking players on, put your number 10s on, your more imaginative players. Let’s see what South African football is all about.”