ATLANTA — World soccer’s governing body, FIFA, convened a special forum in Atlanta on Wednesday, bringing together athletes, government officials, and technology professionals to explore ways to combat hate speech in the sport.
The event was co-hosted with TikTok and the City of Atlanta and was held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights — just one day before the International Day for Countering Hate Speech. It also took place ahead of a World Cup 2026 match between the Czech Republic and South Africa.
A major focus of the gathering was FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service, a tool designed to identify and remove harmful content online. Since its launch, the service has reviewed more than 250 million posts and flagged over 30 million as harmful. Since June 11 alone, it has taken down 388,000 harmful posts connected to World Cup 2026 — already exceeding the 287,000 posts removed during the entire 2022 tournament.
Law enforcement action has also followed. Eleven individuals across seven countries were reported to authorities in 2025 for abuse during FIFA competitions, with one case referred to Interpol, according to previous reporting.
Among the panelists at Wednesday’s event was George Weah, the former president of Liberia and the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, who serves as honorary captain of FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel. Former Nigerian international Mercy Akide also participated in the discussion.
Weah spoke passionately about the unifying power of the sport. “Football is not just a game of chance, it’s a game of unity,” he said.
