World Cup 2026 could spark euphoria and violence, UNAM warns of alcohol and crowd risks

The intense emotions surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026 could ignite aggressive behavior, especially when combined with alcohol and crowd dynamics, warns Angélica Larios Delgado, an academic from UNAM's Psychology Faculty.

Larios Delgado explained that mass events like football stir deep emotions, connecting with individual and collective aspects of belonging and shared triumph or defeat. "Emotions that are shared are amplified," she stated, noting a phenomenon of emotional contagion that grows with the number of people involved. The human brain's innate drive for gregariousness creates a feedback loop in large gatherings, intensifying euphoria, joy, anger, or frustration.

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Emotions that are shared are amplified.

This can lead to "uncontrolled emotions," particularly when fans excessively internalize game outcomes, perceiving their team's wins or losses as personal. Violence often erupts from a perceived threat or grievance. In football, fans may feel aggrieved by referee decisions, losses, or perceived injustices against their team. "The problem arises when we lose sight that it is a game," Larios Delgado noted. Distorted feelings of achievement or loss, mixed with frustration or anger, create fertile ground for aggression.

She emphasized that sports cannot be analyzed in isolation from their social context. In environments marked by economic inequality, violence, and exclusion, sporting events can amplify existing societal tensions. This is evident in discriminatory expressions like homophobic chants at stadiums, which perpetuate social stereotypes and prejudices. The World Cup 2026, she concluded, will showcase both society's capacity for celebration and its contradictions.

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The problem arises when we lose sight that it is a game.