2026: The Most Controversial World Cup

This isn't the first time controversy has consumed FIFA. Some will remember July 20, 2015, when FIFA president Sepp Blatter arrived at the organization's Zurich headquarters for his first major press conference since announcing plans to leave office. FIFA was then in the grip of an international corruption crisis: less than two months earlier, Swiss authorities had arrested seven senior football officials after the United States charged multiple figures across the sport with racketeering, fraud, and bribery.

Before Blatter could begin speaking, British comedian Simon Brodkin approached the stage in character as "Jason Bent," placed banknotes in front of Blatter, and announced the money was for North Korea's bid to host the 2026 World Cup. As security removed him, he threw the remaining bills over Blatter's head, leaving the FIFA president standing amid a shower of cash before the stage had to be cleared.

The stunt turned FIFA's central scandal into a literal image: football's most powerful administrator buried in money. Blatter returned to announce FIFA would elect his successor in February 2016, but the crisis engulfing the organization didn't end there. Brodkin was later charged by Swiss police after FIFA filed a complaint, while the corruption investigations that inspired his protest continued dismantling the governing structure Blatter had led for 17 years.

But Gianni Infantino, full name Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino, has taken FIFA to a new level of controversy. The Swiss football administrator has served as FIFA president for roughly a decade, after serving as UEFA Secretary General from 2009 to 2016, where he oversaw the organization's tournament expansion. He has also been an IOC member since 2020. As FIFA president, Infantino has overseen three World Cups: Russia 2018, Qatar 2022, and the ongoing 2026 tournament across the US, Mexico, and Canada.

The Peace Prize

Infantino's first major controversy of this cycle came on December 5, 2025, when he presented U.S. President Donald Trump with the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., moments before the official draw for the 2026 World Cup, a tournament featuring 48 nations. The award, a newly created honor including a gold trophy, medal, and certificate, recognized what FIFA called Trump's "exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity." Infantino told Trump, "This is your prize, this is your peace prize." Trump called it "one of the great honors of my life."

The award drew swift, sharp criticism. Watchdog group FairSquare, joined by European politicians and Human Rights Watch, filed an ethics complaint with FIFA, arguing that handing a political leader an award for "peace and unity" was itself a breach of the organization's supposed neutrality. Critics also noted that neither the FIFA Council nor its vice presidents were consulted on how the winner was chosen. FIFA has never explained its selection process.

The Balogun Suspension

The second controversy centers on U.S. forward Folarin Balogun. In the Round of 32, Balogun received a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia and Herzegovina's Tarik Muharemovic, a sanction that automatically carries a one match suspension under FIFA's disciplinary rules and cannot normally be appealed.

Days later, FIFA reversed course, posting a brief, unexplained statement suspending the automatic ban for a one year probationary period and clearing Balogun to play against Belgium in the Round of 16. Trump publicly said he'd called Infantino to ask for the case to be reviewed. Reporting has since indicated that the reversal wasn't even a decision by the full disciplinary committee; a single FIFA official reportedly made the call alone, without input from the other members of the committee.

Balogun started against Belgium; the U.S. lost 4 to 1 and was eliminated. Infantino has denied any interference, saying in a statement that FIFA's "judicial bodies act independently" and "decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them." FairSquare has since asked the IOC, of which Infantino is a member, to investigate whether he broke rules on political neutrality, citing the Balogun case alongside his public support for Trump's Nobel Peace Prize bid and his role in creating the Peace Prize itself.

Between a peace prize handed to a sitting president with no transparent selection process, and a suspension reversal that reportedly bypassed FIFA's own disciplinary committee, these two episodes are enough on their own to sour me on this World Cup.

Re-living death twice over

Different cultures have their tradition of how they perform the last rites of the deceased member of the community. In the Hynñew Trep society, too, different sub-tribes have their rites of passage and these could vary from one place to another. People have their way of disposing of the body of the dead, some cremated their dead while others bury them, but when it comes to the culture related to the dead, the people in the Khasi Jañtia hills follow a tradition that is unique to the area.

An opportunity to strengthen the family bond

Amongst the people in the Khasi and Jañtia region, the demise of a person is not only considered a very unfortunate incident, but it is also an opportunity for the near and dear ones and the community to extend their moral and physical support to the bereaved family. Bereavement is an occasion for family and friends to show solidarity with the family and most importantly it demonstrates the continuation of the underlining value system of the common good or well-being of all. Perhaps our society is the only society where when a person died, the body is kept lying in state for two days and the reason is to enable family members and friends to pay their last respect to the departed soul. 

The passing away of a member of the family is a special time and friends and relatives must visit the bereaved family. It is about reinvigorating the relationship of the ‘kur the kha’ family both from the mother's and the father's side. It is also a time for the ‘Paramarjan marpa’ friends and neighbours to strengthen their bond of friendship by sharing their time and resources in sympathy for the bereaved family.    

The death of any member of the community is being shared and respected by society and in fact, the deceased person received much more hounour on one’s demise than while one is still alive. Perhaps there is no other community that gives more honour to the deceased person than the tribal society. Therefore irrespective of how one lives, it is an honour to die in a tribal society. The honour given to the dead is one aspect of the society which is unique but it is also about revitalizing both the family and the community’s relationship. It is an example that demonstrated the relationship in which not only the family but even the community share and care for each other. 

In the Hynñew Trep culture, at the center of all the practice relating to the demised of the person is the important principle of the common good. It is the value which believes in the well-being of one is good for everybody which is an intrinsic part of the culture of the people. 

The last rite is not the end 

The last rite of a person is as much about the deceased person, as it is a special occasion for the kith and kin that are still alive. When somebody died in the family, all the kith and kin must be informed not only that they can pay their last respect to the departed soul, but it can also be an opportunity to rekindle the relationship. The visit during bereavement is also an opportunity to introduce relatives to one another. In the Khasi Pnar tradition, the last rite of a person is more than just an occasion for sending off the dead person to the next life. The last rites of a person also comprise of ritual ‘ka siang ka pha or the siang ka phur’ which is an offering of food to the departed members of the family who dwells in the realm of the spirit. In Jañtia Hills in some cases, the last rites of the deceased do not end with the person being cremated. The final rite of the deceased person is complete and the departed soul can finally rest in peace only when all the rituals are completed. 

Cremation is not the end of a person’s last rites 

Traditional cremation is done in a special way that ensures that the charred bones of the deceased person remain and the same are to be collected for keeping in the clan’s ossuary. In the Pnar and War cremation practices, care is taken that not everything turns to ashes since the charred bones are to be kept in the ossuary. Amongst the Pnar there is the tradition called ‘rah chyieñ or booh chyieñ’ and amongst the War Jañtia, it is called ‘lum shyiang’ a tradition in which the charred bones of the dead person are kept in the clan’s ossuary. The final rite of the deceased is completed only when the charred bones are finally laid to rest in the clan’s ossuary. 

Defiling nature is a taboo

In the Hynñew Trep traditional belief system, the hills, the forest, and the rivers are not just part of nature, but they are deities that people pay obeisance to. People seldom bury but rather cremated their dead because they believe that burying the dead is defiling nature which is the dwelling place of the nature god. ‘Ki rynkaw ki basa’ are not only important deities in the Hynñew Trep people’s pantheon of gods but they are also territorial deities. The ‘ryngkaw and the basa’ keep and look after their domain and care for those who live within their domain. A person or a family is always connected to their respective ‘ryngkaw’ or the deity whose realm is the place from where the clan originated. 

People also avoid carrying the dead bodies from one place to another or crossing the realm of one deity to another because this amount to defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’. If defiling the sanctity of the ‘ryngkaw’ is unavoidable and the body has to be carried across, the ‘ryngkaw’ has to be appeased later. Hence people always carry the charred bones instead which is not the same as carrying a dead body. Family preferred to be cremated their relative at the place they died and instead carry the charred bones later to the clan’s ossuary which is located within the domain of their respective 'ryngkaw.' 

Therefore when a person died in far of places or in the ‘ryngkaw para’ or the domain of foreign ‘ryngkaw’, their body or at least their charred bones have to be taken to the ossuary located within the realm of their ‘ryngkaw’ of origin. The charred bones have to be taken to the realm of their deities or the ‘ryngkaw’ they belong to. The final rest of the person has to be under the realm of the deities to which they originally belong.  

When cremation is performed twice 

The traditional practice in the War Jaiñtia area which is different even from the rites practiced in the other places is the practice when the dead is cremated twice. The last rite of a person is re-enacted and the cremation was performed again after the real cremation was done a year ago. In the ‘rah chyieñ’ amongst the Pnar although it is only the charred bones that are being carried and kept lying in state at the respective family’s ‘ïung blai’, the custom and mode are somber similar to when the dead body is present. 

‘Rah chyieñ or lum shyiang’ is always performed a year after the real cremation happened, but unlike the ‘rah chyieñ’ of the Pnar in the tradition followed by residents of Nongtalang the entire cremation ceremony was carried out. As always real cremation was conducted immediately after the demised of the person but because it was done in the domain of the foreign ‘ryngkaw para’ it was conducted without proper rituals. A year later even in the absence of the dead body, a ‘krong’ was made and the same was carried to the cremation ground and friends and family marched in a procession similar to when the real cremation happens. At the cremation ground even if there is no dead body, all the rituals due for a dead person are performed and after all the rituals are performed the charred bones are kept in the ossuary and a standing is erected in the case of a male and a flat stone is laid in the case of a female person. Although there is no dead body because the deceased was cremated a year ago, or even if the ceremony is performed a year or more after the person’s demised, the cremation is conducted as if it is a real cremation. 

Perhaps it is the only place where the cremation ceremony of a person is performed twice one immediately after the person dies and another a year later in a tradition called ‘tai shyiang’.  

 

Understanding the Lives of Visually Impaired Persons

Despite December 3 being celebrated as the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, this section of the population continues to be the most neglected in society. They do not always appear on the radar screen of any government scheme and are overlooked even by the public. The Society of Urban and Rural Empowerment (SURE), taking advantage of the Meghalaya State Skill Development Society training programme, planned training for the visually impaired section of society. While planning the training, we thought it would be a typical training, and we never expected that we would learn so much from them. The training was a great learning experience for me personally and for the staff of the organization in general.

"The Blind Lead the Blind"

It was a significant milestone in the annals of the NGO SURE as it embarked on a month-long special training programme catering to the visually impaired segment of our society. There is a saying that goes, “The blind cannot lead the blind,” but what makes this initiative truly remarkable is that Kelvin Suting of the District Commerce Industries Centre (DCIC), a Jowai award-winning master trainer, is himself a visually impaired person.

The one-month training for seven visually impaired trainees from the district covers trades such as making broomsticks, mat or bamboo brooms. The training was an innovation in itself, specially designed with the visually impaired person in mind. Kelvin Suting, the master trainer, recalled his past experiences with training and highlighted the struggles that he had to overcome when trained by instructors who were not visually impaired. The trainers could not understand the challenges faced by blind trainees. Based on this observation, the training was designed by Ialsiewdor Gashnga, Programme Coordinator Skill, SURE, in collaboration with Kelvin Suting, the master trainer, and Lamobormi Suchen, Skill Development Officer, to create course content specifically meant for differently-abled individuals. The training was conducted using only the sense of touch, and the training module has been tailored to meet the needs of the visually challenged.

They Also Have Their Own Dreams and Aspirations

Krishna Phawa, one of the trainees, expressed his aspiration to follow in Kelvin's footsteps and hoped that the training would not only enable him to earn a livelihood and find success in life but, more importantly, to be able to train others. Initially, when we planned this training, we were a little uncertain; we were not sure if this would work, but deep in our hearts, we knew that it would in some way or another help our visually impaired friends. And we realized that it has somehow helped them gain at least one skill to help them earn their livelihood.

The most important lesson that I learned from spending time with them is that all of them yearn to be independent. The training had helped them, in some way, break out of the monotonous life that has confined them to their homes. After being together for one month, it has also helped build camaraderie among them.

They don’t want to live on the sympathy of their parents and their loved ones. They don’t want to continue depending on their parents or relatives, even for small things; they want to live an independent life as much as they can. In some way, we have been able to help enable them to achieve their goal. Hopefully, society will also listen to their wishes and provide an enabling system and an environment that will help them live an independent life. One also hopes that the government will also make roads, footpaths, and even government institutions much more accessible for the differently-abled citizens of this state.

Learning from a Day out with the Visually Impaired

A few days before the training ends, the visually impaired master trainer asked me if we could arrange a picnic or an outing for them to Loomkyntoor Resort. Although no funds are allocated from the scheme for the excursion, we still decided to give them the opportunity with our own funds. But the question is, what does an outing really mean for a group of visually impaired people? What does a trip really mean when one can’t see anything? The organization’s staff never thought that the outing would make them happier than the visually impaired. It is said that there is no bigger reward than seeing the people you care for happy. Going for a picnic is one thing, but for them, going together as a group of visually impaired people is something that cannot be explained. One can see the camaraderie that they have built among them. It was a joy to see them happy and to help explain to them about the place, and for some of them, it was the first time in their lives that they ate out or in a restaurant.

Visually Impaired Taking Photographs

One would wonder why they would want to take a photograph of themselves or with their friends when they cannot even see. What will they do with the photographs anyway? All visually impaired trainees, except one, have a smartphone and at least a WhatsApp account. The moment the photograph is taken, it is immediately uploaded to their status. Even if they are blind, the app on the device also helps them take photographs. It tells them if the photo is in frame or not. You can see the joy in their faces when they upload their status on WhatsApp. Thanks to the smartphone device, they can also make the best use of technology. Smartphones, in some way, become extensions of their being and help them access other services, a feat that would have been impossible to achieve had it not been for the device. Their eyes are closed, but their hearts are open, and they long for independence to live the life they wish to live.

How They Made the Best Use of the Smartphone

Among the visually impaired people we had close interaction with, Krishna Phawa stood out as one of the most experienced in making the best use of the smartphone device. Krishna not only uses WhatsApp and email but also uses G-Pay to send and receive money. Although he is 100 percent blind, because he also lives in Shillong, he can also book a Rapido ride to travel in the city. He even has a YouTube channel of his own. Krishna, who has somehow mastered the use of a special app on his smartphone, wishes he could be of help to his fellow visually impaired people and help them make the best use of smartphones. Apps that are commonly used by visually impaired people are ‘Be my eyes' and ‘Lookout', which help them read books, medicines, prescriptions, and even scan documents for them. There are also apps for the visually impaired, like ‘Kybo, 4 percent, and Keep Note', which help them text, and they can use it as a reminder.

Demonetization or Note Ban

The National Democratic Alliance government note ban, or demonetization, has had a huge impact on visually impaired people. The note ban has affected them greatly, but the general public was not aware of it because their stories were never told. How does the Modi note ban affect the visually impaired citizens of this country? One would remember that the old notes have different sizes according to their value; for example, the size of a one hundred rupee note varies from the size of a fifty, twenty, ten, or one rupee note. The notes are easily distinguishable by people, even if they cannot see them. Because of the different sizes of the notes, visually impaired people can easily identify the currency by merely touching it. After demonetization, almost all the currency notes are of the same shape and size, which makes it difficult for people who cannot see to differentiate one from the other. Now they have to use an app like 'Mani' to help them identify currency notes.

International Day for Persons with Disabilities

December 3, which is yesterday, is celebrated the world over as a special day for persons with disabilities, but let us ask ourselves: have we been able to provide them with an environment and a space in which they can live as independently as we all are? Isn’t it true that we only look at with sympathy or even look down at them? Has the government been able to make even government buildings easily accessible to differently-able people? This is a million dollar question.

 

Indigenous People’s gift to the World

In light of the current climate crisis, hopes appear from an unlike section of the population of the world and that is the indigenous people. People who were often called savage and lived in a place called undeveloped now seem to show the world how their way of life living close to nature is one of the answers which could help combat the climate crisis.  

The guardians of lives on Earth

Even though millions more species are yet to be discovered, indigenous people who live in a territory that covers about 25 % of the world’s land surface, and has a population of 370 million only, are the custodian of about 80 % of the global biodiversity. With just a small population comprising less the 5% of the world’s population, and living in just a quarter of the world's total land surface, the indigenous people had done commendable work in conserving the biodiversity in their region. In India, the northeast region of the country is also known as a biodiversity hotspot of the country. 

The question that follows is why and how can this happen. How are the indigenous people able to protect the rich biodiversity in their respective regions? Thanks to the indigenous people and local communities who are the world’s biggest conservationists, more than 30 percent of the Earth’s land and water are already conserved. The UN Environment Program, World Conservation Monitoring Centre/ICCA Consortium’s new estimates suggest that Indigenous peoples and local communities conserve at least a fifth of all land on Earth. 

UN source states that there are currently about 476 million indigenous people in the world in 90 countries, they live and occupy approximately a quarter of the world’s land and water. The area holds about 85 percent of the world’s biodiversity, and the indigenous people can therefore be called the keepers of the biodiversity.  

The future is the indigenous way of life

“The future of our planet lies in indigenous ways of living on the Earth,” says Jon Waterhouse, Indigenous Peoples Scholar at the Oregon Health and Science University and a National Geographic Education Fellow Emeritus and Explorer. Waterhouse also says “As a global community, we have lost our way; we forgot what it means to have a relationship with the land.” It is however not easy to understand the complex relationship that the indigenous people relationship with nature. The indigenous relationship is much deeper than just conservation. The indigenous way of life is not only living in partnership with nature but it has to do with the holistic relationship the people have with nature.  

The importance of the traditional knowledge system

Indigenous communities the world over lived in isolation and oftentimes it was because they live far from the crowd that they were able to protect their biodiversity. They protect their biodiversity because for them living in balance with nature is crucial for their own survival. Hence on a closers look at their way of life concerning the environment, it is found that they possess knowledge that connects them which the nature around them. Their traditional knowledge about changes in the weather pattern and other elements which influence the ecosystem they live is appreciated by many. 

In the village people still have traditional knowledge which helps them predicts the weather and decides on the time they sow their seeds or plant their crops. They were able to read the sign in nature by reading the changes in the plants or even in the way birds sings and insects make their sounds. These biological indicators have held them in good stead and recently during the lockdown due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, their knowledge of indigenous wild edibles help them survive the pandemic. 

The living Nature

The first nation people shared another common value that animals, plants, and the spirits of nature are alive. Human is not seen as separate from nature but, as part of the earth, human are as important as animals, and plants and they share a very close kinship relationship with their fellow beings. Hunting or fishing is done in calculated ways taking into consideration their breeding and eating habits. In Jaintia hills, people will not go fishing when the fish were breeding and in the past when people hunt, they perform rituals that go with it, and also obeisance was paid when the animal was caught. 

In the indigenous concept, human is not seen as superior to nature, or rather nature does not exist to serve humans. Human is supposed to live in peaceful coexistence with fellow beings. The idea that nature exists to serve humans is foreign to the indigenous people they believe everything in nature coexists to support one another and not to serve the other. The word is coexisting not service as service is a capitalist idea that sees everything measurable in money terms or everything can be monetised. In a traditional context, the human relationship with nature is both profound and complex.  

Indigenous people are their enemy

In the global scenario, indigenous people find themselves on the front line of the attack by industrial agriculture and logging. Their ancestral lands were seized for industrial purposes and in the process destroy the biodiversity in these areas. Their mountains and rivers which they considered sacred were exploited often living hills barren and rivers polluted. 

While in many cases, the environmental terrorism against the indigenous people was executed by outside forces, in some cases like in Meghalaya, it was carried out by the indigenous people themselves. No law or no amount of enforcement can succeed in preventing the destruction of the environment when the people themselves are hell-bent to destroy nature. 

Our relationship with our values

In the case of Meghalaya the question is when we have chosen to detach ourselves from our relationship with nature; can we still call ourselves the indigenous people? When we only see natural resources as something to exploit, the question is what kind of relationship we have with nature. Can we still call ourselves indigenous people when the relationship between ourselves and nature has broken? 

The Sixth schedule which is supposed to protect us is used to exploit land and river for the benefit of the few. The Autonomous District Councils which are empowered to protect our culture, tradition, rivers and land are more often than not misused to serve the few. ADCs are now seen as just another government agency and not institutions that were empowered to protect the rights and the way of life of the indigenous people of the state. The need of the hour is to go back to our rich culture which includes living a morally upright life and living closely with nature. 

Indigenous values

Traditional values of the people comprise living a morally upright life, a caring and sharing community, and a life living a close relationship with nature. This value system is intricately woven into people’s way of life and it embodies the three cardinal principles of ‘ka tip briew tip blei, ka kamai ia ka hok, bad ka tip kur tip kha,’ which literarily translates to know man know god, live righteously, and respect one’s relation both on the father’s and mother’s side. The general purpose of a tribal’s way of life is also caring and sharing ‘ka bhalang uba bun balang’ or ‘ka bhalang ka imlang’ which translates to ‘common good or well-being of all.’ The other important value is ban bat ia ka burom ka akor (to hold on to propriety and honour), Ban bat ia ka nia ka jutang, ka shikyntien ka hok (word of honour) and u thylliej ksiar, u thylliej rupa (upholding the honour of spoken word).

The tribal also consider nature or the earth their mother (mei ramew) and it is also the dwelling place of ‘ki ryngkaw ki basa’ or the deities of nature. They consider river and mountains their gods; hence have a very profound relationship with nature. The question is why people are not only losing their culture, but have sadly distanced them from their roots. 

The indigenous people still have a way of how they manage their NRM and it is now for the government to recognise the practice and make use of the wisdom.

Urgent need for an NRM policy 

The state government needs to think outside of the box and come up with Natural Resources Management policy, which is based on strength of the people’s way of life. When the world's richest country, the G7 are looking at the lessons they can learn from the indigenous people to conserve at least 30 percent of their land and river by 2030, the state of Meghalaya with a huge population of indigenous people needs to go back to its roots and come up with lesson they can offer the world in combating climate change and that will be our gift to the world.