FIFA and key stakeholders gathered in Atlanta, United States, to discuss practical solutions to tackle hate speech and to mark the global occasion
'Stop Hate, Protect Football - What Actually Works Against Hate Speech?' event highlights the power of collective action to tackle online and offline discrimination
The FIFA Social Media Protection Service has kicked away over 30 million abusive posts and comments since the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
To mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech , FIFA, TikTok and City of Atlanta convened an elite group of players, policymakers, technology experts, and community leaders at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Held on the eve of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ match between Czechia and South Africa at the Atlanta Stadium, the panel discussion focused on driving actionable solutions with the aim to end hate speech, safeguard the game and preserve football as a global force for unity, for sport and society.
The event, titled 'Stop hate, protect football - What actually works against hate speech?', moved past standard awareness raising to explore concrete interventions against discrimination, racism, and abuse - both on and off the pitch.
A Coalition for Change
The panel brought together diverse perspectives from sport, governance, and technology, featuring: George Weah, FIFA Players' Voice Panel Captain and Ballon d'Or winner; Mercy Akide, FIFA Players' Voice Panel Member and former Nigeria midfielder; Candace Stanciel, Chief Impact Officer for the City of Atlanta; Eric Ebenstein, Senior Director of Public Policy at TikTok Global; and David Gerson, U.S. Soccer Certified Referee and Mentor, from Refs Need Love Too.
Opening the discussion, Mr Weah, outlined the problem facing players targeted by hate today and emphasised football's unique ability to bring about change.
"If I look back, I would say that nothing has changed. I experienced racial abuse when racism was at its peak; but we are still here talking about it today. Football is not just a game of chance, it's a game of unity.
"There are a lot of elements which want to destroy the game. Football is a game of peace, a game of unity. What we are trying to do here, with FIFA and [FIFA President] Gianni Infantino, we are doing at the right time. If we allow these things to slide down, the beautiful game will be destroyed. And that's why we are fighting, we are trying to educate young people so they grow into loving people, not just people who love the game. Discrimination should not be part of our society."
Hosted by Atlanta-based sports journalist, Simone Scott, the panel discussion examined how hateful rhetoric manifests today in football and society, before focusing on three operational pillars: decoding the evolving nature of digital and physical hate speech, identifying high-impact interventions, and translating institutional commitments into measurable outcomes.
"This was an amazing day [to mark] International Day for Countering Hate Speech," said panellist Candace Stanciel. "FIFA is committed to this work, so to recognise cities that have decided to engage in the human rights effort was such a gift. "I think the panel really gave us an opportunity to think about where the challenges are, what we're doing that really works, and what kind of commitments we can make. Whether you're a player, whether you're a ref, whether you're a city government hosting a tournament, or anybody who's engaged in wanting sport to be better. With an international experience like FIFA, we get to really talk about human rights. We really get to go global in the conversation."
Reflecting on the event, Mercy Akide said: "There's no [better] time to do it than this time. It made me empowered just to hear what the community - like it's a community - we must bring everybody, include everybody to do this. And just listening to the panel, it makes me want to do more now."
A central focal point of the event was the FIFA Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) , FIFA's monitors and intercepts online abuse in real-time to protect players, teams, and officials.
Since its inception, the SMPS has delivered significant protective coverage across FIFA's global tournaments and events. Over 250 million comments and posts have been reviewed, revealing over 30 million harmful comments and posts.
Throughout the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026™ , the service remains actively deployed, providing a proactive digital shield for all tournament participants. Since the tournament began on June 11, over 3.8 million comments and posts have been reviewed, with 388,000 of those removed, after being identified as harmful. By comparison, throughout the entirety of the FIFA World Cup 2022™, 287,000 posts and comments were removed.
The Atlanta forum aligns with FIFA's broader Global Stand Against Racism -a comprehensive framework dedicated to systemic change through grassroots education, fan engagement, and localized resource toolkits for football associations worldwide.
The event concluded with a formal commitment ceremony. Turning words into accountability, each panellist pledged specific, localised actions, reinforcing the core message of the day: eradication of hate speech requires sustained, collective responsibility from every level of the beautiful game.
