FIFA displays anti-racism messaging at Club World Cup after backlash to campaign roll back
FIFA displayed anti-racism and discrimination messaging at the Club World Cup for the first time on Wednesday to mark International Day for Countering Hate Speech following a backlash to its decision to roll back its campaigns against racism and discrimination across the opening three days of the tournament in the United States.
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A video explaining FIFA's anti-racism protocols and the organisation's 'universal anti-racism gesture' was played before Wednesday's group stage fixture between Manchester City and Wyad AC at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, while anti-racism messages were displayed on advertising hoardings at Hard Rock Stadium before Real Madrid played Al Hilal in the day's later fixture.
FIFA sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated the messaging would only be in place on Wednesday for International Day for Countering Hate Speech and not throughout the rest of the tournament.
The Athletic reported on Monday that, according to multiple sources briefed on FIFA's planning for the tournament, world football's governing body did develop promotional materials in the months leading up to the tournament for their 'no racism' and 'no discrimination' campaign but it has not been visible during the opening round of fixtures at the tournament in stadiums or on social media platforms. This represented a roll back of the messaging previously seen at FIFA events such as the women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and the men's World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
FIFA declined to comment when asked if the current political climate in the U.S. played any part in its decision amid hostility towards companies who support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. FIFA was subsequently accused of 'throwing its weight behind the MAGA (Make America Great Again, the political slogan most recently popularised by President Donald Trump) project' by Nick McGeehan of FairSquare, an advocacy group focused on human rights, while other campaign groups expressed their disappointment and called for a reverse of the decision.
The Athletic has asked FIFA if Wednesday's campaign was pre-planned, but FIFA had not responded by the time of publication. In its response to The Athletic's initial story, FIFA did not outline that it was intending to show the anti-racism messaging video to mark International Day for Countering Hate Speech. It also did not include any commitment to their anti-racism or anti-discrimination campaigns, mentioning only their commitment to the FIFA 'Football Unites the World' campaign and saying that FIFA has a zero tolerance policy against racism.
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Neither the European Club Association (ECA), who represent the interests of clubs who compete in UEFA competitions and who have played a part in commercializing the Club World Cup with FIFA, nor players' union FIFPro, were consulted about the absence of anti-discrimination campaigns at the tournament and found out about the rollback when it was reported in the media.
Kick It Out, a leading UK anti-discrimination charity, said it was 'concerning' for the messaging to be excluded from this summer's tournament.
'As has been demonstrated by Angel City, football has a unique power in bringing communities together, and visibility of FIFA's anti-discrimination campaigns while the world is watching is crucial in helping this cause,' the charity said. 'We would urge FIFA to reverse its decision and sincerely hope this is not a sign of things to come at the World Cup next year.'
A FIFA spokesperson on Monday said: 'FIFA has a firm, zero-tolerance stance against all forms of discrimination and racism. This commitment was recently reinforced through the unanimous approval by the FIFA Council of the revised FIFA Disciplinary Code, which introduces new measures to fight racist abuse — including increased minimum bans for racist incidents and enhanced financial penalties as duly informed to the 75th FIFA Congress in Asuncion in May 2025.'
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