World Cup 2026: how are posts on diversity and inclusion being received on social media?

<p>Football has embraced the issue of diversity, though not without controversy. But how do online communities respond to these efforts? An analysis of several thousand social media posts reveals a more nuanced reality: in the eyes of the public, not all forms of diversity are received in the same way.</p> <p>Nelson Mandela <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeeHYVd14jc&amp;t=27s">famously said that “sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.”</a> This ideal lies at the heart of <a href="https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/media-releases/social-impact-campaigns-world-cup-2026">FIFA’s message for the 2026 FIFA World Cup</a>, presented as a celebration of unity, diversity, and inclusion.</p> <p>The tournament itself reflects this ambition: <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-22/world-cup-culturally-diverse-received-trump-america/106824680">a significant share of players now represent a country other than the one in which they were born</a>, illu