SPAIN PERSPECTIVE

Madrid reads the tournament as the perfect illustration of 'sportswashing,' a concept the Spanish press deploys without hedging. The central angle is that of the 'Trump World Cup': Jules Boykoff, a political scientist and former professional footballer, author of the book 'Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed Machine,' is enlisted to show how leaders use sport to 'launder their own image.' According to him, Trump 'has used sport for his political benefit more than any recent president' and 'needs to seize this opportunity to project an important image on the world stage,' notably to 'divert attention' from uncomfortable topics like the Iran war or the Epstein files. The Spanish press stresses the tournament's 'very important geopolitical dimension': the relationship 'of total deference' between Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and the friction among the three host countries 'not going through their best moment.' This resolutely critical reading contrasts with the usual footballing enthusiasm of a world-champion nation: even a sports-section-less outlet like elDiario.es mounted special coverage around the 'contradiction' of loving football while hating what is done with it. For Madrid, the 2026 edition crystallizes the tension between popular passion for the game and the political instrumentalization of an event grown too big to remain innocent.