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The 2026 FIFA World Cup may become the single largest short-term trafficking opportunity ever created by a sporting event. With 16 host cities across three countries, unprecedented corporate hospitality activity, and sustained population movement over several weeks, the tournament creates conditions that organised exploiters are likely already monetising.

This assessment, authored by Neil Giles, Global Intelligence Ambassador for STOP THE TRAFFIK, examines the trafficking risks emerging around the tournament and the conditions that may enable exploitation at scale.
2026 FIFA World Cup host stadium map of North America, divided into Western, Central, and Eastern regions, each labeled with city, stadium name, and seating capacity.

2026 FIFA World Cup Host Cities in North America (The US, Canada, & Mexico)


** Background
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Historically, major events from large business conferences to sporting events have been viewed as a rich market for trafficking and exploitation. Evidence of increased local recruitment for exploitation on the ground is hard to find, largely because events are usually short-lived, intense market opportunities that attract a visiting trafficker and those they exploit, particularly for commercial sex.

During the 2022 Qatar World Cup, an event with far fewer games than the 2026 World Cup, there was a significant upsurge in adult services adverts, with prices doubling relative to previous norms and featuring a range of women and men from multiple nationalities. Analysis indicates it is likely that for each exploited person in sex work, the monthly revenue generated ranged between $40,000 and $60,000. Whilst reporting on exploited labour is less straightforward to access, it is equally clear that the preparation, set-up and take-down, cleaning, laundry, and food sectors were significantly augmented through the sourcing of contract labour that was heavily infiltrated with exploitation. Revenues for labour exploitation are significantly less in comparison to the per-person return for sexual exploitation and are hidden in invoicing systems and payments. The Paris Olympics in 2024 presented a broadly similar picture.

It is highly likely that the upcoming 2026 World Cup will be viewed by sex traffickers as the most attractive opportunity for trafficking and exploitation. It could be of historical proportions.
A football stadium with a full crowd
A football crowd in the street


** Recruitment
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1. Each of the 16 event cities will have a pre-existing market for commercial sexual exploitation and for labour exploitation. Traffickers will anticipate increased demand and higher revenues whilst the World Cup is on, including pre- and post-event activity. This may encourage some additional recruitment in host cities as the event approaches, but this is likely to be limited.
2. As traffickers seek to exploit the anticipated increase in demand across the 16 host cities, operational planning is likely to be well advanced. Trafficking networks will likely have identified victims for deployment and secured travel and accommodation arrangements ahead of peak tournament activity.
3. Host cities in Mexico will likely see trafficked persons for sex work arriving from South and Central America.
4. While some traffickers may travel internationally to take advantage of the short-term opportunity, and some victims may also be trafficked across borders to meet increased demand, host cities in the US and Canada are likely to see the majority of traffickers and victims come from within the country, either already based locally or travelling domestically to the city.


** Demand

Traffickers create and maintain markets for their products and services, and these are set out below:
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Commercial Sexual Exploitation
1. Market research conducted by traffickers will have identified that, for this World Cup, venues will attract a primarily male corporate audience with considerable disposable income. Ticket sales last summer indicated that corporate packages were an area FIFA and other partners specifically targeted. The audience is likely to be in the host city for a few days, probably in small groups, with a percentage seeking an ‘escort’ during the stay.
2. Initial visitor groups of sponsors and those putting in place all the infrastructure and systems will precede the tournament, providing additional sales opportunities from early to mid-May.
3. To meet an increased level of demand, advertisements on adult service websites (ASW) are likely to begin being posted immediately and continue for an extended period. ASW businesses themselves will anticipate an upsurge in business.
4. Drawing on STOP THE TRAFFIK’s work in Qatar and Paris as comparators, the volume of commercial sexual exploitation advertisements is highly likely to increase by up to 100%, with prices charged for sex services rising to as much as double pre‑event market rates.

Labour Exploitation
1. Legitimate markets will provide multiple opportunities for contract labour.
+ Hotels and lodging: short-term uplifts in cleaning and other service requirements.
+ Catering: food preparation, delivery, and other unskilled labour requirements.
+ Building maintenance: given the influx of visitors and the need to maintain venues and ancillary infrastructure.
+ Security of venues and ancillary infrastructure.
2. It is likely that young and/or vulnerable people in the local community will be exploited to transport narcotics and collect cash on behalf of the local drug dealers.


** Money
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Almost all funds generated from both sex and labour exploitation will enter legitimate banking systems or crypto wallets. The assessment below is not exhaustive, but it includes indicators of income that traffickers are likely to derive from victims and how transactions might be detected.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation
1. Traffickers will hope to generate c. $50,000 or more per exploited person per month, equating to in excess of $100,000 for the enterprise overall in the field of commercial sex. Those arriving in host cities are likely to bring more than one victim of exploitation, thus multiplying this estimate.
2. It is likely that this event will see a much higher profile for payments via cryptocurrencies. The profile of large numbers of corporate and male visitors makes this a distinct risk and will be seen by buyers as a way of disguising the transaction.
3. Cash transactions will still play a part and will likely lead to ATM deposits into both local pre-existing traffickers’ and ‘out of town’ traffickers’ accounts.
4. Payment by bank transfer, Cash App, and similar methods will likely remain routine.
5. Traffickers’ accounts on Uber/Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing platforms will show increased activity for extended periods in host cities.
6. Traffickers will use food delivery services (Uber Eats, DoorDash, etc.) during extended visits in host cities, perhaps to two or three different lodging addresses, with activity visible in the app and payments reflected in their banking activity.
7. Traffickers will make multiple payments to adult service websites, with some of these payments obscured by using multiple payment cards.
8. Small amounts of money are likely to be paid to victims, either by bank transfer or cash

Labour Exploitation
1. Traffickers will generate significantly less from victims of labour exploitation than from victims of sexual exploitation. This will likely be determined by the minimum wage plus any reasonable overtime, totalling $1,000-$2,000 per month.
2. Money may be “cash-in-hand”, which cannot be detected until it enters the banking system.
3. Workers paid on a more formal payroll may have their wages reduced by traffickers who control their bank accounts or impose additional charges (e.g., inflated recruitment fees, travel, or accommodation costs). In this case, large numbers of relatively small amounts will be detectable across multiple bank accounts.
4. Traffickers will likely pay for rental accommodation, multiple food deliveries to different addresses, and transport for workers, bearing in mind that they may have control of their victims’ bank accounts, so these payments may be disguised.



**
What Are We Doing About It?
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Throughout the FIFA World Cup 2026, STOP THE TRAFFIK is working across major host cities to reduce trafficking and exploitation risks linked to the tournament.

We're also conducting baseline intelligence gathering across host cities, monitoring adult service platforms and high-risk advertisements, and tracking emerging patterns before, during, and after the games. And through our global business and financial-sector network, we're helping partners in hospitality, travel, tourism, and events proactively manage heightened risks of exploitation —sharing actionable intelligence across the US as insights emerge.
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