30 million abusive posts and comments in more than 50 languages removed since 2022 launch across all major social media platforms
FIFA President Gianni Infantino: "Hate speech has no place in football or in society…when players, coaches and match officials are targeted, it is an attack on football itself."
FIFA World Cup 2026™ expected to show a five-time increase in instances of abusive posts and comments compared to the 2022 tournament - also due to increased levels of detection and deletion
FIFA is turning up the volume on its fight against discrimination at four FIFA World Cup 2026™ host venues today, to mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech . High-impact stadium activations are taking over matches in Atlanta, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, and Vancouver to send a rallying cry to all to stop hate and protect football.
During the pre-match ceremony, team captains are today exchanging special commemorative pennants featuring the native languages of the competing teams on one side, and a powerful English translation on the reverse: "WE PLAY TOGETHER. WE STAND AGAINST HATE." This unified message will take centre stage - backed by striking, campaign-themed stadium LEDs - as Czechia faces South Africa in Atlanta, Mexico takes on Korea Republic in Guadalajara, Switzerland battles Bosnia and Herzegovina in Los Angeles, and Canada goes head-to-head with Qatar in Vancouver.
The activation across each of the three host countries - which follows the Stop Hate, Protect Football gathering that took place on Wednesday, 17 June at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, USA - also shines a spotlight on a powerful digital defence system: the FIFA Social Media Protection Service (SMPS). Since its debut ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, this proactive shield has successfully intercepted and eliminated more than 30 million abusive posts and comments in more than 50 languages across all major social media platforms.
The latest SMPS analysis taken from the first round of matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026™ indicates more than five times as many instances of abusive posts and comments will be removed when compared to the 2022 tournament. Thanks to sophisticated improvements in the service's capabilities, the scale of the SMPS's protective coverage is increasing. Since its inception, the service has analysed over 250 million comments and posts across FIFA's global events, hunting down, removing and reducing visibility on 30 million instances of harmful content.
That digital shield is working harder than ever for the ongoing 2026 tournament. Since the action kicked off on Thursday, 11 June, the SMPS has already reviewed over 5.5 million comments and posts, swiftly removing 530,000 toxic messages to protect players, coaches, and officials. To put that effort into perspective, the service eradicated 287,000 abusive posts throughout the entire duration of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In just one week, the 2026 tournament has already surpassed that total.
In addition to removing hateful comments, the SMPS works closely with the social media platforms to take action against the most egregious and prolific accounts. In the first week of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the SMPS's team of expert analysts have triaged 186,000 messages flagged by AI as concerning (containing violent content or threat), reporting over 30,000 to the platforms for direct action (including content removal, account suspensions and deletions).
"Hate speech has no place in football or in society," said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. "On the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, we reaffirm our tireless commitment to eradicating discriminatory abuse in all its forms. When players, coaches and match officials are targeted, it is an attack on football itself.
"We have a duty to protect them, and a duty to protect followers from hateful abuse and from the idea that such behaviour is acceptable. That is why we have strengthened the FIFA Disciplinary Code, launched the No Racism campaign and empowered players, coaches and match officials through the No Racism gesture.
"Hate speech is a systemic challenge that requires strong alliances to confront. Through FIFA's Social Media Protection Service and with the support of partners such as @tiktok, we are working together to tackle hate, help make digital spaces safer and ensure that respect always has a place in our beautiful game and online."
