Beyond the Pitch: The Social Costs of Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup

What can we expect when the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament finally arrives in Toronto, and why should we be collectively pushing for a more equitable and socially just approach to hosting this World Cup and any future mega-events in our city?

Advocates for hosting a mega-event, like the FIFA Men’s World Cup, often frame such events as a once in a lifetime opportunity for a city to enhance its urban brand, infrastructure and global standing, effectively becoming "world class" by hosting a world-class event.

While the goal of hosting a “world-class” event and, in the process, potentially gaining recognition as a “world-class” city may be fine in the abstract, hosting a “world-class” event has all too often meant increased policing and displacement of a city’s most vulnerable citizens, human rights violations of various kinds, the disregard of various planning processes including forms of participatory democracy, along with other forms of social violence. Recognizing this, especially in the wake of the international outrage regarding the egregious human rights abuses leading up to the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, FIFA unveiled a new human rights policy and set of requirements for host cities for the 2026 tournament. However, it is yet to be seen whether this new policy, and its lofty rhetoric, will make a material difference.

Join us on February 24 for the third annual Peter Donnelly Lecture in Sport Policy Studies, where keynote speaker, David Roberts, will explore the connection between hosting a mega-event and becoming a “world-class” city with a particular focus on Toronto as host city.

Keynote Speaker

David Roberts is an award-winning associate professor of Urban Studies in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. He joined the Urban Studies Program in 2013 after completing his PhD and MA in geography from the U of T.

His research and teaching focus on the geographies of race and racialization, urban infrastructure planning, and the politics of public participation in urban knowledge production and policymaking. He has a particular interest in how members of communities historically marginalized from formal planning processes engage in city-building work by shaping and reshaping urban spaces, politics and experiences.

His interest in sports mega-events was piqued by a trip to South Africa a few years prior to the 2010 FIFA Men’s World Cup where the excitement of what hosting might bring to the country and host cities was being unevenly experienced. This visit inspired his doctoral research project which focused on the ways in which hosting the 2010 World Cup altered the lived geographies of those that lived, worked, or otherwise spent time in South Africa’s host cities — with a particular focus on Durban. He continues to teach, research and write on the connections hosting a mega-event and broader urban trends and aspirations.

Event Details

• Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Avenue)
• Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
• Lecture starts at 7 p.m.
• Post-lecture social starts at 8 p.m. with light snacks and refreshments
• No cost to attend but registration is required

The event is open to all, and will also be livestreamed (a link will be provided a few days before the event). We welcome students, staff, and faculty from across the University of Toronto community, as well as alumni of the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education and members of the public.

About the Dr. Peter Donnelly Lecture

This lectureship honours the contribution and legacy of Peter Donnelly, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto. He is the founding Director of the Centre for Sport Policy Studies (1999–2021), and was a Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. An annual event, the lecture aims to celebrate his legacy of teaching, contribution to the sociology of sport and commitment to social justice.

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