The opening day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was hit by violent protests on Thursday afternoon as riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators outside the stadium.
What was supposed to be a global celebration turned into a chaotic political nightmare, threatening to completely overshadow the tournament’s curtain-raiser.
While Mexico secured a 2-0 victory over South Africa, thousands of protesters hit the capital to voice rage over missing citizens and poor labor conditions.
The massive demonstrations were fueled by a coalition of multiple unions and activist groups marching to draw global eyes to the country’s severe domestic issues.
The most prominent groups mobilizing include searching mothers’ collectives, the CNTE teachers’ union, federal judiciary workers and various transport organizations. In total, it was reported that eight simultaneous protests took place on Thursday.
Human rights groups have thrown a spotlight on the country’s staggering missing-persons epidemic, which continues to plague tens of thousands of families.
Protesters attempt to breach the Mexico City Stadium but are stopped by a line of riot police
One of the most prominent groups included searching mothers’ collectives. According to Mexico’s National Registry, there are currently 134,460 recorded missing persons in the nation
While Mexico secured a 2-0 victory over South Africa, thousands of protesters hit the capital
According to Mexico’s National Registry, there are currently 134,460 recorded missing persons across the nation, a figure that continues to rise rapidly.
‘This is a crisis on a staggering scale,’ warned Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director of Amnesty International Mexico, ahead of the opening match.
‘There are more disappeared and missing people in Mexico than will attend the opening match of this World Cup,’ the human rights boss added in a statement.
‘Amnesty International calls on authorities across all states in Mexico to fully respect the right to peaceful protest and to refrain from any actions that could result in the repression of demonstrations. We will be closely monitoring the development of mobilizations throughout the country.
‘Football cannot ‘unite the world’ while mass deportations continue to devastate families and spread fear and division, or while people are prevented from expressing themselves freely.’
Marching under the slogan ‘Don’t play with our pain,’ hundreds of relatives carried candles and photographs of their missing loved ones right up to police lines.
They are demanding urgent international help to solve cases that local authorities and federal investigators have allegedly neglected and ignored for years.
While the vast majority of the 18,000 demonstrators marched peacefully, tensions boiled over just an hour before kickoff outside the main stadium gates.
The Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City (SSC) later confirmed that there were two groups of around 800 protesters, from which nearly 200 hooded individuals broke away.
While most of the 18,000 demonstrators marched peacefully, tensions eventually boiled over
Marching under the slogan ‘Don’t play with our pain,’ hundreds of relatives carried candles and photographs of their missing loved ones right up to police lines
Approximately 300 police officers were deployed, as well as a mounted unit, to disperse the protesters.
When the violence unfolded, four metro stops were immediately closed, while protesters knocked down multiple guardrails outside the stadium.
Clara Brugada Molina, the head of government of Mexico City, had earlier made no attempt to stop the protests, claiming that ‘this is a city where these events can coincide’, referencing the planned demonstrations.
‘There is a right to protest as well as to experience the joy of living a World Cup,’ she said, per MVS Noticias.
Inside the stadium, the World Cup got off to a flying start with an opening ceremony headlined by Shakira, before the Mexico scored inside the opening ten minutes.
Mexico went on to win the Group A game 2-0, while there were three red cards – two to South Africa and one to Mexico.
