The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has compiled safety resources to help journalists from around the world minimize risks and protect themselves against potential threats while covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup, during which events will be held across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The CPJ is estimating that the world’s premier sporting event, the FIFA Men’s World Cup, will have an estimated 50,000 FIFA-accredited journalists and media workers alongside many other reporters covering every aspect of the games.
According to the organization, journalists have faced harassment, detention, threats and violence while covering major sporting events.
It urged that amid intensifying immigration and customs enforcement operations in the U.S., where most matches are hosted, all journalists should take precautions while covering the games.
The CPJ said in Mexico, violence against local journalists is the most concerning, while in Canada, there have been cases of journalists stopped at the border and, although very rarely, arrests of reporters covering protests.
The organization said it is working to ensure that all journalists, whether accredited or not, can report on the event freely and safely.
It is for this reason, it said, that it has compiled safety resources with tips from CPJ safety experts.
The Guide includes a Safety Advisory for Traveling to the United States, developed by the CPJ in April 2025 in the wake of the Trump Administration’s adoption of new travel and immigration policies in the US. The Advisory contains proactive steps that journalists can take to assess their risk and secure their devices.
It also includes a “Basic preparedness: Risk assessment” guidance, originally released by the CPJ on September 10, 2018, and later updated in August 2020, with information on researching the environment prior to assignment and preparing for risks that journalists may face during travel, on the ground, and online, while preparing to report in the US.
The CPJ also advises journalists on assignment at World Cup venues, protests, and other crowd events to be prepared to encounter crowd violence and police aggression, adding that on-site, journalists can take steps to maintain situational awareness in a crowd, observe for signs of escalation, and plan exit routes.
It warns that journalists need to know their legal rights and take steps to prepare in case of possible arrest or detention, stressing that this is especially important for non-citizen journalists covering the World Cup in the United States, who may be targeted by U.S. immigration authorities. It references a “Guide to legal rights in the U.S,” which it published on July 1, 2024.
The CPJ Guide also provided guidance on “Accessing support on the go” and provides a list of resources that journalists should keep “on hand while reporting during the games,” including:
- Adding CPJ’s chatbot using the number +1 206-590-6191 to their phone books, and texting the number “Hello” to select from a menu of safety resources.
- Contacting CPJ at: emergencies@cpj.org.
- Calling the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on its legal hotline at: 1-800-336-4243 for legal support in the U.S.; and
- Submitting issues such as assault, denial of admission to an area, detention, arrest, or damage to equipment to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker at: https://bit.ly/4fr5wZQ
More information on the CPJ’s 2026 World Cup resources is available at: https://bit.ly/43csL2n
