EU: Council of Europe questioned the integrity of the 2026 World Cup and urged FIFA to help build a stronger framework for the next edition
"World Cup integrity questioned, FIFA urged to improve for 2030 by human rights organization", 19 July 2026
...Europe's top human rights body questioned the integrity of the World Cup and urged FIFA on Sunday to help build a stronger framework for the 2030 edition being played mostly in Spain and Portugal...
Swiss politician Alain Berset cited FIFA suspending a ban for United States forward Folarin Balugun while under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and the risk of fraud in the soccer body signing a prediction market as a World Cup sponsor...
FIFA signed a prediction market sponsor deal in April worth a reported $150 million with ADI Predictstreet, one week after the Abu Dhabi-backed company was formally created. FIFA also has other commercial deals with the gambling industry for this World Cup.
Prediction betting has been criticized as rewarding insider trading, and Berset noted that in soccer it allowed wagers to be won on "moments a single player can produce without changing the score"...
The Council of Europe (CoE) aired its concerns publicly despite having a formal working agreement with FIFA signed by its president Gianni Infantino in 2018...
"So here is my proposal to FIFA," Berset wrote. "A working dialogue that starts tonight, to build the integrity framework of the 2030 World Cup before it is played"...