Brussels, 14 January 2025 – Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 (11 June – 19 July 2026), which will be hosted in part in the United States, the European Democratic Party (EDP) has sent a formal letter to key European and international authorities calling for clear, binding and publicly verifiable measures to protect European citizens travelling to the tournament.
The EDP warns that the current context creates growing concerns over legal and administrative uncertainty, including the risk of non-transparent or discretionary visa decisions and border controls, as well as potentially invasive practices involving personal data and online activity. For a global event expected to attract millions of visitors, the absence of predictable rules and safeguards could quickly turn into a serious issue of security, fundamental rights, and international credibility.
The EDP calls on the European Commission and EU Member States to ensure effective protection for European travellers, including common guidelines, a dedicated European consular task force in host cities, and a real-time monitoring system covering incidents, refusals of entry and border-related issues.
The EDP also urges FIFA and UEFA to take responsibility by ensuring that binding minimum standards on human rights protection, non-discrimination and legal certainty are included in host-country protocols, and by activating a 24/7 multilingual contact point for fans and delegations with genuine operational capacity.
Sandro Gozi, Secretary General of the European Democratic Party, said:
“The World Cup must unite people through sport — not create fear, uncertainty or discrimination. This is not a political attack: it is a call for minimum safeguards based on transparency and the rule of law, so that millions of fans and official delegations can travel and participate safely. We must protect our athletes and our fans. For an event of this scale, procedures must be clear, predictable and non-arbitrary.”
The EDP underlines that, should such guarantees not be formally agreed, made public and verifiable, football authorities and national federations must consider all options to avoid exposing fans and delegations to unjustifiable risks.
Here you can find our letter.
For new signatories to this letter, please contact us at the following email address: [email protected]
