FIFA gathered players, policymakers, and technology experts in Atlanta on June 17, 2026, to discuss solutions to hate speech in football [1, 2]. The event was co-hosted with TikTok and the City of Atlanta and took place at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights ahead of the World Cup match between the Czech Republic and South Africa [1, 2].
Panellists included former footballers George Weah and Mercy Akide. Weah said, "Football is not just a game of chance, it's a game of unity" [1].
Since its launch, FIFA's Social Media Protection Service has reviewed over 250 million posts and identified more than 30 million as harmful [1, 2]. The service began removing harmful posts at the 2026 World Cup starting June 11 and has already removed 388,000 posts, surpassing the 287,000 taken down during the entire 2022 tournament [1, 2].
In 2025, 11 individuals from seven countries were reported to law enforcement for abuse during FIFA competitions. One case from these was referred to Interpol [1, 2].
The event in Atlanta aimed to foster collaboration on policy and technology to combat abuse and hate speech across social media platforms and at football events. The next key moment will be the ongoing World Cup matches where monitoring and removal of hateful content continue under FIFA's oversight.