{"id":84829,"date":"2026-07-20T12:04:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=84829"},"modified":"2026-08-06T11:48:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T09:48:45","slug":"world-cup-iran-war-fossilflation-who-really-wins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/84829\/world-cup-iran-war-fossilflation-who-really-wins\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2026: Who really wins in a world of war, fossilflation and inequality?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In times when genocide, wars, extreme weather and the largest World Cup ever can coexist, the world\u2019s biggest football tournament inevitably becomes a stage for geopolitical tensions and contradictions. Even more so when it is co-hosted by a country that has threatened to annex a fellow host country<\/a> and started a war<\/a> against one of the competing nations.

While football has been historically considered a working-class sport, the 2026 World Cup goes far beyond football tactics and the performance of national teams, and it has put the sport\u2019s inclusive nature to the test. It places not only a magnifying glass on the global social and economic divide, but also exposes the brutal reality that countries are falling behind on many indicators, and remain far from the victory their people truly seek: a dignified life in a safe and liveable environment.<\/p>\n\n

\"Greenpeace
June 2015: Greenpeace volunteers are hanging a banner saying “Gazprom: No Arctic Oil!” at Berlin’s Olympia Stadium where the Champions League Final takes place. Gazprom is the first company who actually drills oil in the Arctic. Gazprom is a sponsor of the UEFA.
\u00a9 Gordon Welters \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The \u201cpeople\u2019s game\u201d in a world of visa walls and fossilflation<\/h2>\n\n

The US hard-line immigration and border policies affecting players from competing countries, as well as fans, showed that teams do not compete under equal conditions and standards. A Somali referee<\/a> was denied entry into the country. An Iraqi striker<\/a> was held for seven hours of questioning. Iran\u2019s players were subject to unfair treatment, from visa denial (to at least fifteen officials and team staff<\/a>) to different travel arrangements between training and matches. The US has barred or restricted citizens from 39 countries<\/a> and halted immigrant visa processing for 75 countries; out of 150 Ghanaian fans who applied for visas, 147 were refused. The divide<\/a> is clear.<\/p>\n\n

For those fortunate enough to pass the entry barriers, another layer of privilege for those attending the matches is related to the attendance costs: the most expensive in the World Cup\u2019s history<\/a>. This year\u2019s tournament has made it as clear as ever that fans are not merely supporters; they are treated as consumers and a revenue stream<\/a> for an industry that becomes more and more elitist. The dynamic pricing<\/a> system and the sophisticated profit tactics<\/a> adopted by FIFA led category 1 tickets to reach more than US$10,000, flights from abroad to reach $2,000 roundtrip, and average hotel price on matchdays $400. For fans in competing countries going through high domestic inflation (an increasingly common trend around the globe), attending a match has become financially impossible. <\/p>\n\n

This reflects however a broader social problem: the unprecedented global income inequality in an era in which the world has for the first time a trillionaire<\/a> (a status Elon Musk reached the day after the World Cup kicked off), while over 673 million<\/a> people face hunger, and society is treated as a marketplace. A strong social safety net and fair income distribution are at least as important as people being able to enjoy and afford World Cup matches, because dignity off the pitch and joy on it should go hand in hand.<\/p>\n\n

\"Civil
January 2018: Civil society comes together to demand change from leaders at the World Economic Forum: Greenpeace Switzerland activists project messages from Amnesty International, European Trade Union Confederation, Fight Inequality Alliance, Greenpeace, International Trade Union Confederation, Public Eye, Attac Switzerland and the Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice onto the hillsides facing the World Economic Forum.
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Lumina Obscura<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Nations short scoring on democracy, inequality and the cost\u2011of\u2011living crisis<\/h2>\n\n

Besides the tournament itself exposing deep paradoxes from the host nation\u2019s foreign diplomacy, from strict borders to price discrimination, other issues underscore the effect that geopolitics has on current inequality and rising cost-of-living. Countries around the world \u2014 competing or not to the World Cup \u2014 have been falling short in many other social, economic, and climate indicators. <\/p>\n\n

As latest data from the independent research institute V-Dem<\/a> shows, nearly 74% of the world\u2019s population<\/a> now live under autocratic rule, including many of the competing countries. This number is likely to increase next year as recent developments in countries like Colombia and Peru show, from Colombia\u2019s razor\u2011thin election of a Trump\u2011backed far\u2011right president promising US\u2011backed airstrikes and mega\u2011prisons to Peru\u2019s ongoing post\u2011electoral crisis and weakened democratic institutions. The \u201cthird wave of autocratization\u201d is fast spreading through both democratically fragile and traditionally stable nations: also in the United States itself, which according to the analysis in a timeframe of a bit more than one year is rapidly moving from electoral democracy towards electoral autocracy. <\/p>\n\n

The world is taken by a widespread affordability crisis driven by increasing inflation, whose cause is manifold: the war-driven energy shock, pressure on global food supplies because of crop failures caused by extreme weather, increased defense and fiscal spending amid rising global tensions, as well as core inflation by housing and rent, which in many countries make up the largest chunk of consumer price indexes; all this while the wages fail to keep the pace with price shocks on top of structural cost of living. In 2026, the energy shock has put significant pressure on key regions such as Europe<\/a> and Asia<\/a>, which are dependent on oil and gas from West Asia and North Africa (the Middle East) and facing industrial recessions and high utility bills, with countries facing deep energy shortages, soaring prices and tight supplies. <\/p>\n\n

\"Seoul
A person doing their shopping in Seoul, South Korea.
\u00a9 Jung Park \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

War, energy shocks and fossilflation: who is actually winning?<\/h2>\n\n

When the US\u2013Israeli war on Iran shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed oil prices up, ordinary people paid more for fuel, food and transport, but fossil fuel corporations turned the chaos into a jackpot. Greenpeace analysis shows the world\u2019s biggest oil and gas companies raking in tens of billions of dollars in windfall profits<\/a> during the first months of the Iran crisis, with major European firms booking some of the highest quarterly earnings in their histories and making more than 80 million euros per day in \u201cwar profits\u201d<\/a> from inflated diesel and petrol margins.<\/p>\n\n

The same pattern is playing out in our food system. As gas supplies tightened, fertiliser prices soared<\/a> and big agribusiness and agrochemical giants reported windfall profits<\/a>, while farmers struggled with higher input costs and households faced rising food bills. These companies use crises like the war on Iran<\/a> and the global energy shock to demand more subsidies and weaker environmental rules, turning \u201cfood security\u201d<\/a> into corporate welfare while people and ecosystems pay the price.<\/p>\n\n

\"Greenpeace
April 2026: Greenpeace UK activists project the truth about the source of Shell\u2019s huge profits onto their global headquarters by the Thames in London as well as next to a Shell petrol station. The projections include the messages \u201cThey Profit We Pay\u201d, \u201cWar Profiteers\u201d, \u201cAt Least We are Making Billions\u201d, \u201cWar Profits HQ\u201d and \u201cMaking a killing\u201d.
\u00a9 Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

If people are to win, it is time to change the tactics<\/h2>\n\n

While football remains a universal language that unites people around the world, breaks down cultural barriers and offers relief when everything else feels upside down, the World Cup is a timely moment to remind our leaders that goals on the pitch are not enough to guarantee a life with dignity on a livable planet. What truly decides that future is whether countries can rebuild what has been lost amid deep economic and political crises, straining public services, collapsing democratic foundations and a trapping dependence on fossil fuels that keeps causing repeated economic disruptions.<\/p>\n\n

New outcomes cannot be expected when outdated tactics are in place. People are eager for justice, equality, and economic stability. It is time for our leaders to stop defending a broken system and start playing for a different kind of victory.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n \t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMake war profiteers pay: tax fossil fuel profits\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Stop fossil fuel giants profiting from war and pollution. Sign now to tax profits and fund disaster relief and energy independence.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t \n Sign now\n <\/a>\n \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\n

Mar\u00edlia Monteiro is a Senior Campaign Strategist with Greenpeace International, working on socioeconomics analysis and responsiveness, based in the Netherlands.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As genocide, wars, extreme weather and the 2026 World Cup unfolded at the same time, football\u2019s biggest stage also exposed a brutal reality: deepening inequality, democratic backsliding and a fossilflation crisis that is dragging tens of millions of people into instability and rising costs of living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":84833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"Good Life","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[90,89],"p4-page-type":[59],"class_list":["post-84829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-and-economic-systems","tag-peace","tag-climate","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84829"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85292,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84829\/revisions\/85292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84829"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=84829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}