The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has carried out an exercise in contortionism to be able to limit the conditions of the tax advantages granted to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and its companies, which will not have to pay a single peso in taxes during the matches of the 2026 World Cup in the country. However, government working groups only managed to limit these agreements to fiscal year 2026, so events held during the anticipated sporting event continue to be exempt from contributing to public coffers. “Something was signed in 2016 for the World Cup to take place in Mexico. There were several years of tax exemption remaining, it was reduced to one year and limited by the Ministry of Finance,” Sheinbaum explained this Monday during a press conference, making former president Enrique Peña Nieto responsible for these agreements with FIFA.
Meanwhile, the Treasury clarified in a statement that the contents of the government guarantee document for FIFA signed during Peña Nieto’s six-year term specify that the agreements “will continue to be legally binding, fully valid, directly applicable and fully enforceable, regardless of any change in the government of Mexico or any change in laws and regulations.” The Guarantee exempts FIFA, its subsidiaries, member associations, suppliers, subcontractors, individuals and any third parties linked to the organization of the World Cup in Mexico, Monterrey and Guadalajara from the payment of local and federal taxes.
Despite its efforts, the Sheinbaum government’s hands are tied. The Treasury team only succeeded in limiting the legal scope of the concessions to next year, so all tournament activities will be able to benefit from them. Initially, the agreement granted this tax privilege, in addition to exemption from control and administration processes, until 2028. “Currently, the benefits apply only to persons directly involved in the organization and celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, consisting of the release from certain formal, payment, transfer, conservation, collection and other obligations provided for by tax laws,” said the Treasury, which welcomes that the limits of the Guarantee have been achieved through agreements without having to go through the courts.
Of the three countries that will host the 2026 World Cup – the United States, Canada and Mexico – only the last has granted a full, national exemption. The tax agreements between the United States and Canada are not exhaustive and are concluded at the national, state, and local levels.
About The Author
