FIFA Reports 11% Rise In Online Racial Abuse During 2026 World Cup
FIFA's monitoring service detected an 11% surge in online racial abuse during 2026 World Cup qualifying, with racist messages making up a significant portion of inappropriate content across social media platforms.
FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) has found that online racial abuse during the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign has surged by more than 11% compared to the previous World Cup. This striking increase came after SMPS reviewed over 6 million posts and comments, up 33% from 2022, with racist messages comprising 11% of all inappropriate content detected. The proportion of attacks motivated by racial considerations rose 3% compared to Qatar's group stage, which FIFA characterized as a "significant increase in the most severe and inappropriate content" on social media platforms. FIFA stated that as part of its system development, SMPS also gathers evidence for law enforcement agencies, noting that "over 100 examples meeting legal criteria for prosecution preparation have been identified."
