As the largest World Cup ever kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday afternoon, the security around the stadium known colloquially as Estadio Azteca was strict, as large numbers of law enforcement officers held off groups of protesters before the leadoff match between the Mexican national team and South Africa.
This tournament, with a record of 48 teams competing, is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will be the first World Cup in which a country, in this case Mexico, has played host three times. It will also be the first time any stadium has held the opening game three times.
Mexico is considered a favorite in this game against South Africa. The 103 games that follow will be spread across the continent, from Vancouver and Toronto to New York and Kansas City to Monterrey and Guadalajara.
A one-mile radius around the stadium was closed to vehicular traffic, so many people with tickets to the match walked the final portion, and tickets or credentials needed to be shown.
As fans got past security the lines moved relatively quickly for a sporting event of this scale. Fans and workers were told to arrive very early and many took that to heart, with some arriving as early as 6 a.m. for a match that starts at 1 p.m. local time.
Two hours before kickoff, the stands were fairly full, with an overwhelmingly Mexican crowd already singing traditional songs. The fans let out a giant roar when the national team was shown on the large screens as they got off the team bus outside the stadium. They booed when the South African team appeared on the field before the game.
Aside from the fever for the game, unity has not been the prevailing sentiment among the three host countries, and the execution of this neighboring-allies World Cup has not been seamless.
Since beginning his second term last year, President Trump has repeatedly targeted Mexico and Canada with verbal attacks, vows of military action and tariffs. His administration has enacted a strict immigration policy that has turned away some World Cup participants, journalists and fans.
And just a day before the tournament was set to begin, Mr. Trump took another economic swing at his co-hosts, threatening to let the free trade pact signed by the three countries expire.
“We don’t need anything that Canada has, we don’t need anything that Mexico has, but they need everything that we have,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office.
Beyond that, there has been widespread criticism of the cost of attending a tournament that was billed as being inclusive. For the first time, FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has used dynamic pricing, pushing tickets to eye-popping levels, when they can be secured at all.
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