Mexican Sports Matches Cancelled Amid Cartel Violence Before FIFA World Cup

A number of soccer matches were recently cancelled in Mexico after the killing of a high-profile Mexican drug lord close to the 2026 FIFA World Cup host city of Guadalajara led to cartel violence in at least 20 states across the country. But FIFA officials have said they are not concerned about the turn of events as relates to the hosting of the tournament in June.

The death of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and better known as “El Mencho,” in a Mexican army operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco (about two hours southwest of Guadalajara) triggered a wave of violence across Jalisco and other states as alleged cartel members launched coordinated reprisals, including torching convenience stores and gas stations, burning vehicles and blockading roads by setting trucks on fire.

Four soccer matches were called off on February 22, including two top-tier games with Queretaro vs Juarez in the Liga MX and Chivas vs America in the Liga MX Femenil and two in the second division.

Meanwhile, a men’s international soccer friendly match between Mexico and Iceland on February 25 at the Corregidora Stadium in Queretaro is still planned to go ahead as planned.

The situation comes less than four months before the 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway with Mexico vs. South Africa in Mexico City on June 11, in a reverse repeat of the opening match from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. In total, the cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey are set to stage 13 of the 104 scheduled matches at this summer’s tournament, including all three of Mexico’s Group A matches, one Round-of-32 match and one Round-of-16 game.

In addition, the South Korean, Colombian (Guadalajara, Jalisco) and Uruguayan (Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo) Men’s National Soccer Teams have already confirmed their team base camp training sites and hotels in Mexico during the World Cup. Other countries’ national teams have still not announced their final base camps and six more teams still need to qualify altogether.

Mexico’s National Team is also scheduled to play Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in an international friendly on March 28 — a match that is due to mark the reopening of Estadio Banorte, formerly Estadio Azteca and now the venue for the opening match in June. That match would now appear to be in doubt, despite already selling out.

The violence has prompted calls for FIFA to relocate World Cup matches in Mexico to elsewhere in the United States or Canada. However, such a move would require considerable challenges at short notice and challenges to marketing this as the largest FIFA World Cup of all time (expanded to 48 teams) and the first to be staged across three countries.

In a press conference on February 25, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the federation was not concerned about the World Cup.

Other Affected Sports Events

Meanwhile, organizers of the ATP 500 Mexican Open tennis tournament are continuing with this week’s event in Acapulco, Guerrero. In a statement, they said that the tournament’s operation “continues as normal.”

Other events to have been caught up in the violence were the “Vía RecreActiva” program in Guadalajara, a weekly ritual that closes roads to promote cycling and walking for six hours on Sundays, and the International Horse and Charrería Festival in Tlajomulco, Jalisco. The former was cancelled for this week while the latter was temporarily suspended as a safety precaution.

Political Statements

The United States provided intelligence support for Mexico’s military operation and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has officially designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.” This refers to any foreign entity engaging in, or intending to engage in, terrorism that threatens U.S. nationals or national security and can be met with penalties such as asset freezing, material support prohibition and blocking members from entering the United States.

Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum, who has been under pressure from Trump to end drug trafficking from Mexico to the U.S., set out to calm her citizens that there was “absolute coordination” between state governments to stop the violence, and to reassure soccer fans that there was “no risk” to those traveling to the FIFA World Cup in June.

At least 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard are reported to have been killed in the violence so far in Jalisco, according to Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.