Mexico is one of the three host countries of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the country has wholeheartedly embraced the role \u2013 viewing the tournament as a long-awaited opportunity to share its truly extraordinary culture and landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe ball comes home\u201d is one of the tournament\u2019s official slogans. But human rights organisations and victims\u2019 groups have created their own version: \u201cThe ball comes home \u2013but when do our children?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Official figures tell a devastating story: more than 134,000 people are registered as disappeared in Mexico, and 70,000 bodies are held by the national forensic system, still awaiting identification.\u00a0 Additionally, more than 30,000 people are killed each year. These numbers speak to the extreme violence that has come to define daily life in much of the country \u2013 violence that has only increased since former President Felipe Calder\u00f3n declared war on organised crime nearly two decades ago. In some Mexican states, people live in an atmosphere of terror that rivals the conditions found in the world\u2019s most brutal armed conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compounding this violence is a pervasive culture of impunity, entrenched by patterns of collusion between authorities and organised crime that consistently block prevention, investigation and accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the World Cup gets underway, the families of victims of enforced disappearance are taking to the streets \u2013 and to the country\u2019s main stadiums \u2013 to demand truth, justice and reparation.\u00a0\u201cWe are not opposed to the World Cup \u2013 what we stand against is oblivion\u201d has become one of the main rallying cries of the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is in this context that ICIP, Amnesty International Catalonia and Taula per M\u00e8xic are co-organising the roundtable discussion \u201cOffside in Mexico: The other side of the 2026 World Cup<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0This event aims to amplify the voices of those protesting against the serious human rights violations that occur in the host country, while also opening a broader conversation about how major sporting events \u2013 and sport more generally \u2013 can be a force for building more cohesive and compassionate societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The panel discussion will take place on Wednesday 8 July at 6:30pm<\/strong> in the assembly hall of La Model, in Barcelona.\u00a0Speakers will include Mexican journalist Luc\u00eda Lagunes<\/strong>, Catalan sports journalist Toni Padilla<\/strong>, and Marlety Garc\u00eda<\/strong>, a searching mother and representative of the Colectivo Entre Cielo y Tierra Oficial<\/strong>, who will join the conversation online.\u00a0 The event has been organised in collaboration with Casa Am\u00e8rica Catalunya and the Mexican association CEPAD \u2013 Centro de Justicia para la Paz y el Desarrollo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: Luz de Esperanza.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n