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FIFA president Gianni Infantino still expects to play the scheduled FIFA World Cup matches in Mexico this summer, despite the rampant cartel violence that has hit the region.
Cartel violence followed the death of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted fentanyl kingpin, who was captured and killed Sunday after authorities tracked his romantic partner to a secret meeting place this past weekend. He carried a $15 million American bounty after he came to power following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
Oseguera Cervantes was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, and since his death, violence has spread across the country, killing at least 70 people.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 FIFA World Cup news conference Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
But Infantino said he has “full confidence” in the games scheduled to be played, even the games in June at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara – the largest city in Jalisco, which has been hit hard by cartel violence.
Four matches are scheduled in Guadalajara and 13 in total in Mexico, where Mexico City and Monterrey are also hosts during the World Cup. The first games are on June 11 in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
“No one has to move anything,” Infantino told the Miami Herald. “We are in constant contact with the presidency of Mexico, with the authorities. We have full confidence in the authorities in Mexico, in the president [Claudia] Sheinbaum and her team. We fully support them because we live in a world where things happen. Good things and bad things, situations arise. We don’t live on the moon, we live here. We have to deal with it, we have to handle it.
Infantino added that FIFA is “of course monitoring the situation.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a media briefing from the National Palace in Mexico City on October 2. (AP/Fernando Llano)
“Mexico is a football country. And the Mexicans, the authorities and also the people will do everything to ensure that the World Cup, but also the playoffs, will be a celebration of football.”
Sheinbaum also said she has “every guarantee” the World Cup will go ahead and there is “no risk” to fans thinking of going to the games in the country.
Mexico will also host a World Cup playoff match next month with Jamaica on March 26.
Football in the country has already been affected by the violence, as four matches were postponed on Sunday.
“The Games are at the end of March, so we have another month to see what happens, but it makes me very nervous, to be honest,” Michael Ricketts, the president of the Jamaican Football Association, said in a statement to the New York Post. “We will listen to CONCACAF and FIFA to give us instructions [on] whether they play the games or whether they immediately look for other opportunities.”
The capture and subsequent death of Oseguera Cervantes marks one of Mexico’s most significant blows against drug trafficking and organized crime since President Donald Trump called for an intensified crackdown on cartel violence.
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