The FIFA World Cup Is Coming, But Not Everyone Is Excited

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The 2026 FIFA World Cup is on its way to Vancouver, but not everybody is excited for the games to hosted in Vancouver this summer.

Leading up to the event, there have been a lot of changes to the city and areas that are being set up for the teams that do eventually play games here at BC Place.

On the bright side, there’s been a number of positive changes to the city for the event. BC Place has received an upgrade to the playing surface for players, there’s going to be an increase in transit routes and busses to make sure that fans are able to get around the city easier, and for some training fields, there’s been upgrades to the irrigation and draining to prevent flooding.

On the other side of the same coin, there are a lot of heavy negatives that have cropped up due to the World Cup being held partially in Vancouver. There’s been an increase in cameras set up around the city, with an estimate of at least 200 being set up.

There’s also the issue of concerns of putting the vulnerable and homeless population at risk for the sake of beautifying the city for international cameras. There’s been changes to the sheltering laws in some parks. This means that those who are less fortunate are put in a position where they will have to move and fight for space to sleep at night.

There is also the issue of zoning around BC place as well. Once the tournament starts and the gears start moving, there’s going to be a two kilometer area around BC place for FIFA to protect it’s “commercial interests” and control traffic in the area as well.

On top of all of this, when the tournament was announced, and changes started to be made, the indigenous people that the land belongs to were not consulted. They were made unilaterally and done to appease the heads at FIFA to make the city to their liking.

With all the issues that the World Cup has raised in the city, there has been groups that have started to protest these changes. One of the most prominent groups that has been raising the alarm is the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, the DTES & Chinatown Coalition, and the Pivot Legal Society.

It is well known that when FIFA comes to a city, they also like to set up their own courts or laws as well. They run it as they see fit, and have thrown people in jail with less than a fair trail. The worries that we’ll see that again for the homeless population and people that unintentionally break the laws set by FIFA and the city.

The good news is that Vancouver gets to be on the international stage for the FIFA World Cup this summer. There’s going to be an increase in spending at local businesses and restaurants, but what have we had to sacrifice for that?