LOS ANGELES, June 27 — Argentina is taking an unusual off-field approach to the 2026 Fifa World Cup by targeting parents who have failed to pay child support.
The country has reportedly compiled a list of around 13,000 individuals, mainly parents who owe child maintenance, and shared it in a bid to stop them from attending World Cup matches.
The list was put together by Argentina’s Public Registry of Child Support Debtors, and includes people mostly from Buenos Aires as well as other provinces.
Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri said that “those who fail to meet a responsibility as fundamental as feeding their children must face the consequences” football-focused news outlet Goal posted on Instagram.
He added that if they do not provide for their children, they will not be allowed into stadiums, framing it as a wider push to enforce responsibility even in football settings.
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Will it work?
Because the World Cup will be hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, Argentina itself cannot directly enforce stadium bans abroad.
Instead, the list has been shared with US homeland security and tournament authorities, with the hope that immigration checks or ticketing systems could flag individuals before they enter stadiums, entertainment news outlet E! News reported.
The idea is essentially to make sure people who are skipping child support payments don’t end up enjoying premium seats at football’s biggest tournament.
All of this is unfolding as Argentina prepares to defend its 2022 World Cup title with Lionel Messi still very much at the centre of attention.
Argentina’s next knockout match is against Cape Verde in the Round of 32, which falls on July 4 in Malaysia at 10am, with Messi expected to lead the defending champions once again.
