What Americans say about ICE, safety, and human rights as factors in the 2026 World Cup

In addition to asking about soccer, a recent World Cup survey by YouGov asked about factors affecting the global competition that go beyond sports.

About one-third (36%) of Americans say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should have a role in providing security for World Cup matches played in the U.S., including 26% who say it should play a major role, according to the late-May survey. 35% of Americans say ICE should not have any role in security for the World Cup.

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say ICE should have a major role in providing security for World Cup matches played in the U.S. (50% vs. 14%). The majority of Democrats (58%) but only 8% of Republicans say ICE should have no role at the World Cup.

16% of Americans — including 38% of Republicans and 4% of Democrats — say ICE providing security for World Cup matches hosted in the U.S. would make people much safer. 10% say it would make people somewhat safer. 41% of Americans think ICE providing security would make people less safe, including 29% who say it would make people much less safe.

Among the 29% of Americans who are very or somewhat interested in the World Cup, 42% think ICE providing security for matches in the U.S. would make people safer and 38% say it would make people less safe.

Americans are more likely to say that hosting the World Cup will make the American cities that host matches less safe rather than safer during the event (23% vs. 16%). 23% of Americans think the cities that host matches will be about as safe during the event.

Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to say hosting the World Cup will make cities that host matches safer during the event (25% vs. 17%).

Among people who live in cities, 25% say that the cities hosting World Cup matches will be safer during the events. Americans who don't live in cities are less likely to say this (11%).

About one-quarter (27%) of Americans have a favorable opinion of FIFA, or the International Federation of Association Football, which is organizing the World Cup. About as many have favorable opinions of each of several other soccer organizations, including the USSF, or the United States Soccer Federation (27%) and UEFA, or the Union of European Football Associations (25%). More have unfavorable views of FIFA than of the USSF or UEFA, which are less well-known than FIFA in the U.S.

Among the 27% of Americans who are very or somewhat interested in soccer, 69% have a favorable view of FIFA.

42% of Americans say there probably has been corruption or wrongdoing in the running of FIFA in recent years. Far fewer (7%) say there probably has not been any corruption in the running of FIFA. Half (51%) say they don't know. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say there has been corruption in the running of FIFA over recent years (49% vs. 36%).

Among soccer fans — defined here as people who are very or somewhat interested in soccer — the majority (57%) think there has been corruption in the running of FIFA.

How much should a country’s records on human rights and democracy be considered when deciding whether to hold major international sporting events there? 18% of Americans — including 31% of Democrats and 15% of Republicans — say it should be the most important factor. 30% say it should be a major factor, 14% say it should be a moderate factor, 5% say it should be a minor factor, and 4% say it should not be considered at all.

40% of Americans say the U.S. human-rights record is better than most countries’, including 20% who say it is much better than most. 46% of Republicans and 9% of Democrats say the U.S. human-rights record is much better than most countries'. 20% of Americans — including 38% of Democrats and 2% of Republicans — say the U.S. human-rights record is worse than most.

47% of Americans say Canada’s human-rights record is better than most countries’; 5% say it is worse. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say Canada has a better human rights record than most countries (68% vs. 39%). Few Americans (13%) say Mexico’s human-rights record is better than most countries’. 24% say it is worse than most countries’.

58% of Americans — including 71% of Democrats, 62% of Republicans, and only 46% of Independents — say it’s right for international sporting institutions to take a country’s human-rights record into account when deciding whether to hold international sporting events there.

29% of Americans say countries with poor democratic and human-rights records should be allowed to compete in international sporting events; 26% say they should not be allowed to compete. Nearly half (46%) of Americans are unsure.

— Carl Bialik contributed to this article

Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted on May 21 - 24, 2026 among 1,096 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.

Image: Getty (Luke Hales / Staff)

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