NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
FIFA President Gianni Infantino still expects to play scheduled FIFA World Cup matches in Mexico this summer, despite the rampant cartel violence that has hit the region.
The cartel violence followed the death of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most wanted fentanyl kingpin, was captured and killed Sunday after authorities tracked his romantic partner to a secret meeting place last weekend. He received a US$15 million bounty after rising to power following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel.
Oseguera Cervantes was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and since his death, violence has spread throughout the country, where at least 70 people have been killed.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a news conference for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
But Infantino said he had “full confidence” in the scheduled matches, even those in June at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara – Jalisco’s largest city, which has been hit hard by cartel violence.
There are four matches scheduled in Guadalajara and 13 matches in total in Mexico, with Mexico City and Monterrey also serving as World Cup hosts. The first matches will take place on June 11 in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
“Nobody has to move anything,” Infantino told the Miami Herald. “We are in permanent contact with the Mexican presidency, with the authorities. We have full confidence in the Mexican authorities, in the president [Claudia] Sheinbaum and his team. We fully support them because we live in a world where things happen. Good things and bad things, situations happen. We don’t live on the moon, we live here. We have to face it, we have to face it.
Infantino added that FIFA is “monitoring the situation, of course.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a press conference 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, are a celebration of football.”
Sheinbaum also said she had “every guarantee” that the World Cup would go ahead and that there was “no risk” for fans planning to travel to matches in the country.
Mexico is also scheduled to host a World Cup qualifier next month, with Jamaica on March 26.
The country’s football has already been affected by the violence, with four matches postponed on Sunday.
“The games are at the end of March, so we still have a month to see what happens; but it makes me very nervous, to be honest,” said Michael Ricketts, president of the Jamaica Football Federation, in a statement reported to the New York Post. “We will listen to CONCACAF and FIFA to give us instructions [on] whether they play the games or immediately look for other options.
The capture and 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.
Related article
