The organization of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico has been raising questions for several hours. If the President of the Mexican Republic Claudia Sheinbaum assures that there is no “no risk” in terms of security for the holding of the next matches in his country, the dramatic situation in Guadalajara, a large city located in western Mexico, in the state of Jalisco, is already threatening one of the intercontinental play-offs for the World Cup at the end of March.
The playoff between New Caledonia, Jamaica and DR Congo takes place in the home of the Chivas de Guadalajara, Estadio Akron (with a capacity of 49,813 seats). New Caledonians and Jamaicans will initially face each other on March 26 (the 27th at 4 a.m. in France), and the winner will challenge the Leopards led by Sébastien Desabre on March 31 (10 p.m. in Paris and Kinshasa).
It is obvious that the security of a football match is not guaranteed after the serious violence perpetrated by the cartel called Jalisco Nueva Generacion in the city, after the death of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho, in a military operation (led by the Mexican authorities with the support of the United States).
DR Congo in another city in Mexico?
As indicated by the Argentine media Claro Sportsconcern has invaded the Fifa offices and a plan B must be studied as quickly as possible. The three selections concerned have already prepared for their trip to Mexico and the Congolese of Chancel Mbemba, Axel Tuanzebe, Gaël Kakuta and Cédric Bakambu have also scheduled a preparation match against Bermuda, in Guadalajara, five days before their play-off.
One of the solutions would be to move the two meetings of this intercontinental barrage to another city in Mexico such as the capital Mexico City. The other play-off which will pit Iraq, Bolivia and Suriname against each other, to give the French team the second opponent in Group I, will take place in Monterrey, in the Rayados stadium. And what about the four World Cup 26 matches scheduled in Jalisco, notably Mexico’s second match (against South Korea) and the Uruguay-Spain poster?
