FIFA holds Atlanta event on tackling hate speech in football

FIFA brought together players, policymakers, and technology experts in Atlanta on Wednesday to discuss strategies for combating hate speech within football. The event took place on the eve of the International Day for Countering Hate Speech.

Co-hosted with TikTok and the City of Atlanta, the gathering spotlighted FIFA's Social Media Protection Service. Since its inception, the service has reviewed more than 250 million posts, identifying over 30 million as harmful. Notably, between June 11 and the event, 388,000 harmful posts were removed during the World Cup 2026, a substantial increase from the 287,000 removed during the entire 2022 tournament.

Panellists included notable figures such as George Weah, former Liberian president and 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, and Mercy Akide, a former Nigerian international. Weah, who serves as the honorary captain of FIFA's Players' Voice Panel, emphasized football's unifying power, stating, "Football is not just a game of chance, it's a game of unity."

The event was held at Atlanta's National Center for Civil and Human Rights, preceding a World Cup match between the Czech Republic and South Africa. In 2025, eleven individuals across seven countries faced law enforcement reports for online abuse during FIFA competitions, with one case escalated to Interpol.

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Football is not just a game of chance, it's a game of unity.