Sunday, June 21. As fans arrived for the 12pm match between Iran and Belgium, members of NOlympics LA, Black Alliance for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, the National Iranian American Council, and Black Alliance for Just Immigration gathered in front of SoFi Stadium to protest the unprovoked US war on Iran, and to stand in solidarity with the people of Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine.
“Iran, Iran, do not cry, the children of Minab will never die!”
On February 28, the United States bombed a school in Minab, Iran, killing at least 168 people, mostly children. We honored the children and caretakers whose lives were taken that day, reading from the heartbreaking stories featured in this Minab Elementary archive. The backpacks and the painted handprints on the Iranian flag banner were our attempt to insist that World Cup attendees reflect, even if momentarily, on the monstrosity of the violence perpetrated by this World Cup host country.
“Iran, Iran, make us proud, turn another ship around!”
At SoFi Stadium, we encountered busloads of people who were there to protest the Iranian team and government. A handful of these protesters harassed our group, and one even spat on a member of our group after they left the action. They waved pre-revolutionary Iranian flags, Israeli flags, US flags, and flags that blended all three, which probably tells you everything you need to know.
In contrast, we stand in solidarity with Iran against US aggression and violence. We insist on Iran’s sovereignty, as well as the sovereignty of Lebanon and Palestine.
“Boycott FIFA, shame shame shame. They sell war crimes with our game!” “FIFA FIFA you can’t hide, you’re sportswashing genocide!”
In allowing the United States to host the World Cup — in spite of 1) its unprovoked war against another participating nation, 2) its financial and political support of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, 3) its refusal to allow the Iranian team to stay longer than one night, subjecting the team to a grossly unfair and potentially injury-inducing travel schedule, and 4) the blatant racism behind its decisions to deny entry to select referees, team support staff, players’ family members, and fans — FIFA shows itself (again!) to be an unscrupulous, grubby money-grabbing machine that doesn’t care how many people die or how many of its stated principles a host country bulldozes over, as long as FIFA gets its money.
FIFA World Cup sponsors perpetuate war crimes, too. For example, Archer Aviation is an Official Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. Archer partners with Palantir and Anduril, which make weapons for the US and Israeli militaries. Anduril’s drones carry out strikes on occupied Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran.
That’s why we say: Abolish FIFA, reclaim the game!
And that’s also why, as part of the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition, we call on the global community to boycott this blood-soaked FIFA War Cup. Don’t give any money to FIFA!
More photos below!
Elsewhere:
The Anduril Out of SoCal coalition is organizing against the construction of an Anduril campus in Long Beach and campaigning to expose Anduril as a domestic and global threat.
Yesterday, at SoFi Stadium and at stadiums around the US, protesters called on FIFA to drop its “Worldwide Partnership” with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil and gas behemoth. They demanded FIFA stop sportswashing the climate crisis and the companies that have created and continued to exacerbate it.
At games in LA on Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, we witnessed Inglewood Code Enforcement and California State Police harassing — and in at least one case, ticketing — street vendors around SoFi Stadium. Inglewood Code Enforcement told us they had to clear street vendors for “safety” to keep space clear. We call bullshit. Numerous demonstrations (including ours) have been allowed to take up the same or similar spaces. This harassment is not about safety. It’s a weak-ass attempt to fulfill FIFA’s demands for “clean zones” around its venues so that more fan money is captured inside the stadiums and directed into FIFA execs’ pockets.
