A coordinated multinational law enforcement operation targeting intellectual property violations tied to the FIFA World Cup has resulted in the blocking or seizure of nearly 3,000 websites illegally streaming tournament matches, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed. The joint action, carried out under the codenames Operation Offside and Operation Red Card, saw U.S. authorities take down more than 1,000 illicit domains within the country, while Colombian law enforcement blocked a comparable number of sites operating from its territory. Additional enforcement across five other South American nations and the Dominican Republic removed 830 more illegal platforms, marking one of the largest anti-piracy operations tied to a global sporting event in recent years.
Overseen primarily by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which houses the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC), the operation frames illegal sports streaming not just as a copyright violation, but a threat tied to transnational criminal activity. “Unauthorized broadcasting of World Cup matches violates intellectual property rights and fuels criminal organizations,” NIPRCC Director Ivan J. Arvelo noted. This latest round of seizures expands on an earlier action taken at the end of last month, which removed 400 infringing webpages from public access.
A. Tysen Duva, assistant attorney general for the DOJ, emphasized that the sustained crackdown underscores the U.S. administration’s commitment to protecting intellectual property ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. “The sustained effort to seize more than a thousand domains dedicated to illegally streaming the World Cup confirms the administration’s commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Duva said.
Industry analysts have long warned that sports piracy, particularly for globally popular events like men’s and women’s football, operates at an industrial scale. The widespread availability of illegal streams costs legitimate broadcasters and rights holders an estimated billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. As the cost of purchasing tournament broadcast rights has skyrocketed in recent decades, consumers have faced higher subscription prices for legal access, pushing some price-sensitive fans to seek out unlicensed streams to avoid the financial burden of multiple paid services.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global industry coalition dedicated to combating digital piracy that partnered with law enforcement on the operation, confirmed that large-scale live sporting events are a prime target for criminal piracy networks. “The World Cup is the kind of global live event that piracy networks move quickly to exploit,” ACE chairman Charles Rivkin said Monday. FIFA, the governing body of international football that derives the majority of its revenue from selling broadcast rights to global media outlets, joined the effort alongside major media companies including beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, Warner Brothers, and sports entertainment firm Ultimate Fighting Championship. None of the partnering rights holders or organizations issued immediate public comment beyond their support for the enforcement action.
In addition to blocking illegal streaming platforms, Colombian authorities made several arrests tied to the operation, including taking four members of the alleged cybercriminal group Los Ciberinfiltrados into custody. The group is accused of illegally obtaining access to World Cup matches and distributing that access to unauthorized users across the internet. Colombian law enforcement also expanded the operation beyond digital piracy, conducting nationwide search-and-seizure raids targeting the production and distribution of counterfeit World Cup-branded sports apparel. To date, 11 people in Colombia have been arrested and convicted on charges related to the fake merchandise ring.
The cross-border collaboration between U.S. and South American law enforcement reflects a growing global push to curb digital piracy ahead of major sporting events, as rights holders and governments work to protect billions of dollars in broadcast and merchandise revenue. While the crackdown has removed thousands of illegal platforms, industry observers note that criminal networks often rapidly re-establish operations on new domains, requiring sustained enforcement to keep piracy levels in check.