FIFA identifies 240,000 abusive posts during 2026 World Cup

ZURICH, Switzerland — FIFA identified 240,000 abusive posts and comments connected to the 2026 men’s World Cup, with racist abuse accounting for 20% of categorised cases, according to findings released ahead of World Mental Health Day.

The governing body said its Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) analysed more than 17 million posts and comments relating to the tournament, which took place in Canada, Mexico and the United States from 11 June to 19 July.

Of those posts and comments, 477,000 were referred for human review and 240,000 were verified as abusive.

FIFA said more than half of the individuals monitored through the service received at least one abusive message during the competition.

Racist abuse represented 20% of categorised abusive content across the tournament, compared with 11% during the group stage. Violent threats accounted for 14% of cases, while xenophobic abuse represented 12%.

The findings underline the scale of hostility faced by players, coaches, referees and other football personnel on social media, including the potential effects on their families.

FIFA’s protection system also operates as a moderation tool, hiding unwanted content before it becomes publicly visible.

During the World Cup, the system automatically scanned 60.7 million user interactions across official FIFA platforms and participating national association channels. It blocked 9.2 million messages, equivalent to approximately 15% of those interactions.

That figure includes suspected spam, automated activity and other harmful content. It should not be confused with the 240,000 posts and comments separately verified as abusive following human review.

FIFA said improvements in artificial intelligence had substantially increased the volume of content its system could moderate.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the service moderated 13.7 million interactions. That number rose to 60.7 million during the 2026 tournament.

The number of posts and comments referred to human analysts increased from 434,000 in 2022 to 477,000 in 2026.

The service also identified offensive AI-generated imagery that had escaped moderation by social media platforms. According to FIFA, the platforms subsequently removed flagged material.

Some cases were considered serious enough to warrant potential criminal investigation.

FIFA said 2,905 accounts met its threshold for possible criminal investigation, with 786 referred to law enforcement for review. Of those, 232 accounts were prioritised because their content was considered particularly severe or threatening.

The protection measures extended to match officials, including cases involving doxing — the malicious publication of personal information that can expose individuals to harassment or threats.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the organisation was strengthening its response to online hate through improved technology and cooperation with authorities.

He said the service was available to football stakeholders across FIFA’s 211 member associations and continental confederations.

FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina said referees should be able to concentrate on their work without worrying about abuse directed at them or their families.

The report was released ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, drawing attention to the possible psychological consequences of persistent online hostility.

Although the figures show the reach of FIFA’s monitoring and moderation system, they also reveal that abuse remained widespread throughout the tournament, including racist attacks, threats and the targeting of personal information.