FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said this AFP On Tuesday he was “very reassured” about Mexico hosting matches at the World Cup, in his first comments on the violence sparked by the killing of a drug cartel leader.
«Very reassured, everything is good. It will be spectacular,» Infantino said in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, two days after cartel members went on the rampage – including in host city Guadalajara – over the military’s killing of their leader Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera.
Mexico, along with the United States and Canada, is one of the three host countries for the World Cup from June 11 to July 19.
The country as a whole, but especially Guadalajara, was rocked by the violence that followed the assassination of the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
At least 74 people were killed during the operation to capture him at a farm near Guadalajara and subsequent clashes between security forces and suspected cartel members.
The government said only one was a civilian, but residents and tourists alike took cover as cartel gunmen blocked roads in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states and set fire to vehicles and businesses qaz4.
‘No risk’ for football fans
“It feels like we are in a war zone,” Javier Perez, a 41-year-old engineer, said AFP Tuesday in a supermarket parking lot full of burned-out cars in the tourist resort of Jalisco Puerto Vallarta.
The images of anarchy and violence spread around the world less than four months before the start of the World Cup, while FIFA refused to comment on Monday.
Infantino spoke AFP during an event of the Colombian Football Federation.
Earlier, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum assured there was «no risk» to World Cup fans and said the situation was «gradually returning to normal».
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, will host four group stage matches.
Mexico City and the northeastern city of Monterrey will also host matches. Both cities were spared by the recent unrest.
In addition to the four matches, including one of the most anticipated of the first round between Uruguay and Spain, Guadalajara will host, together with Monterrey, the play-off tournament that will determine the last two teams to qualify for the World Cup at the end of March.
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus ruled out the prospect of Guadalajara being dropped from the tournament over security concerns, saying there was “absolutely no risk” of a change in the lineup.
All eyes will be on the central state of Queretaro on Wednesday when Mexico plays a friendly against Iceland. A first division match in Queretaro was stopped on Sunday due to violence.
Published on February 25, 2026
