Great news, y’all. FIFA is OUTTA HERE. SoFi Stadium hosted its final 2026 World Cup game on Friday July 10th. The next morning, we went to the JW Marriott in Downtown LA where many FIFA officials and staff were staying to let them know that they’re not welcome back.
“FIFA, FIFA, don’t come back, you sell US drone attacks!” The FIFA World Cup is a shiny sportswashing tool in the hands of the United States, which is currently waging an unprovoked war on Iran, plundering Venezuela, trying to strangle Cuba, and funding and enabling Israel’s genocidal war crimes in Palestine and Lebanon. The World Cup also launders and sells war through its sponsors: LA Host City sponsor Archer Aviation, for example, partners with Anduril, which builds drones, and Palantir, which builds software that powers drones (and ICE’s operations). Marriott Bonvoy is also an official FIFA sponsor. Shame!
After disrupting the hotel lobby, we moved outside to where several fancy black SUVs were picking people up, including at least one FIFA branded vehicle. Our loud megaphone likely reached guests on the lower floors, too. We told FIFA officials to take a few things with them on their way out:
- The LA Sports and Entertainment Commission, the shady body of LA execs who keep bidding to bring more disastrous mega-events here
- ICE
- Local World Cup sponsor Archer Aviation and their partners Palantir and Anduril
- FIFA sponsor Home Depot, which has failed to even try to protect day laborers from ICE on its properties
- Global FIFA sponsor Airbnb
- Global FIFA sponsor Aramco, the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter
- Global FIFA sponsors Coca-Cola and McDonalds
- The pandering peace prize FIFA gave Donald Trump
- Among others!
The previous weekend, on July 4th, we disrupted the official FIFA store at the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall. We called on shoppers to refrain from giving any money to FIFA. Private mall security and then LAPD eventually ushered us off the mall’s property and onto the “public part” of the sidewalk (the police claimed a ton of Hollywood’s sidewalk space is “private property”!). From the FIFA shop to the mall and onto the street, we informed the crowds of Hollywood tourists about the Black Alliance for Peace and the Anti Fascist Football Coalition’s calls to boycott FIFA AND to boycott the United States.
“We say NO to these Games, recognizing that they bring more and more surveillance, more and more control over our lives. […] They have talked about making LA a city of permanent games — of forever games. This is the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission. We say no to these architects of degradation, who will steal from the public purse over and over again, in city after city. […] How can anyone celebrate this nation as it continually wages war after war of oppression throughout the world? FIFA FIFA shame shame shame. No more war crimes in our name!”
We also want to shout out Youth Climate Strike LA, who blocked a VIP entrance at SoFi Stadium ahead of the July 10th quarterfinal with a pickup soccer game and banners denouncing FIFA and Aramco. As one of their banners explained: “Aramco pollutes, FIFA profits, people and players suffer.”
Good riddance, FIFA. Don’t come back.