MEXICO CITY — The official FIFA fan fest in Mexico City for the opening ceremony and first game of the 2026 World Cup, due to be attended by Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, could be forced to be relocated over protests from the country’s teachers’ union.
Sheinbaum will not attend the opening game between Mexico and South Africa at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday after choosing to give away her ticket.
Though she originally mentioned the possibility of watching at the city’s fan fest in the Plaza de la Constitucion, protests at the Zócalo may change the president’s plans.
“Well, let’s see how things develop with the teachers and some other groups, because I obviously need to keep a close eye on that,” Sheinbaum said in her daily briefing on Tuesday. “There’s a team that’s constantly monitoring the situation, but we’ll see how it unfolds.”
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Thousands of members of the CNTE, the Mexican teachers’ union, have gathered at the Zócalo to protest until the government listens to their demands. The teachers are asking for the reinstatement of public pensions for teachers through the 2007 ISSSTE and higher wages, among other things.
The government estimates a capacity of 6,000 members of the CNTE to concentrate in the Zócalo, creating an encampment that blocks the main square where the fan fest is set to be held.
Members of the CNTE have also staged marches throughout Mexico City, causing blockages to certain roads and avenues that lead to the Estadio Ciudad de Mexico. The group closed down parts of the main highway near the stadium on Tuesday.
The Mexican government confirmed that other groups have also planned protests during the week of the World Cup inauguration, with 19 social movements expected in Mexico City near the Estadio Azteca and Zócalo.
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Sheinbaum later insisted that there are 18 other venues throughout Mexico City that can host the FIFA fan fest if the event cannot be held in the Zócalo.
“If for some reason it cannot be held on opening day in the Zócalo, there are 18 venues that were planned in advance by the Mexico City Government,” Sheinbaum said Wednesday.
“This afternoon we can announce whether the Zócalo will be open for the inauguration or not. In any case, there are 18 venues,” she said.
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Sheinbaum staged a contest to donate her ticket, inviting women all around Mexico from ages 16 to 25 to submit videos of themselves playing keep ups while explaining their connection to soccer. The winner of the challenge was then chosen by a committee of judges consisting of professional player Charlyn Corral, referee Katia Itzel García and journalist Gabriela Fernández de Lara.
The president announced 21-year-old Indigenous woman Yolett Cervantes Cuaquehua from the eastern state of Veracruz as the winner of the contest.
“They are the pride of Mexico. They will not represent the president, or the head of government, they will represent Mexico,” Sheinbaum said on May 29.
