KC Voices: Unified social orgs list demands for World Cup Host Committee
The KC2026 World Cup countdown clock, from the unveiling, one year back. // Courtesy of KC2026
In the KC Voices column, we ask members of the KC community to submit stories about their thoughts and experiences in all walks of life. If you’ve got a story you’d like to share with our readers, please send it to brock@thepitchkc.com for consideration.
Today, the Kansas City World Cup Organization [a coalition of local organizers including Decarcerate KC, AIRR KC, Boots on the Ground Midwest, Kansas City Democratic Socialists of America, Party for Socialism and Liberation Kansas City, and the Sunrise Movement KC] poses a question and a list of social demands towards KC leadership ahead of the World Cup.
Illustration by Jack Raybuck
KC Voices local submissions
“If we can host the World Cup, then what is stopping us from taking care of each other as neighbors?”
While Kansas City officials have approved allocating funds to temporarily make Kansas City look good to tourists, many of the initiatives are just stickering over resource mismanagement and priorities that don’t line up with the best interests of its residents.
For instance, spending millions on creating a robust transit system that will last only the length of the tournament amid the KCATA’s plans to cut seven weekday routes, two weekend routes, and make four weekday routes slower in September.
Or, the creation of a temporary jail, which, when used in conjunction with the anti-loitering ordinance passed last year, may lead to houseless individuals being arrested for simply being in public. And while the transit initiatives will expire after visitors leave, the temporary jail will remain for 30 years, in addition to the permanent jail that was added to the plan.
We, the Kansas City World Cup Organization, want to ensure that we don’t let the needs of our residents get swept under the rug while we roll out the red carpet for wealthy travelers and an organization worth billions of dollars.
These demands also touch on the safety of those visiting from other countries. In light of the atrocities being committed against immigrants at the hands of ICE it seems unlikely that foreign travelers will feel safe in our city during the World Cup if ICE is allowed to conduct raids and sweeps.
Full demands and the letter to the Kansas City Host Committee are listed below:
KC Host Committee Demands
In the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, the United States Government has engaged in a campaign of terror that has spared neither our smallest towns nor our greatest cities. Going into this summer, Kansas City is no exception in this campaign, where hundreds of our neighbors have disappeared while commuting to their jobs or while dropping off their children at school.
As our communities are left to relocate abandoned cars and provide support for families ripped apart, our city is to host the greatest game in the world. Our local representatives and municipal government officials have gone to great lengths to create the perception of a welcoming environment to the outside world. At the same time, workers are expected to pick up the extra shifts necessary to make a World Cup possible while maintaining the same pay under worsening labor conditions; simultaneously, while working-class taxes are put towards improvements to beautify the city, we see the unhoused displaced as prisons are built in the same working-class and immigrant-heavy neighborhoods put under further strain by the World Cup.
While this coalition welcomes the outside world and wishes everyone to know and love the Kansas City that we all know and love, it cannot be left unstated that there is a responsibility owed to our neighbors in this moment of political crisis and tragedy.
In light of this reality, the signatories of this petition bring forward the following demands to the Kansas City Host Committee for the 2026 World Cup.
These demands are multifaceted but simple.
If Kansas City can afford to host the largest sports competition in the world, then the same city can provide additional care and guarantees for the citizens that make Kansas City a place worth living and celebrating.
We hope the KC Host Committee will receive them with not only an open mind but with the seriousness that these demands deserve. With the release of the Human Rights Action Plan being 17 days late, it is clear that there is room for improvement. If we can host the World Cup, then what is stopping us from taking care of each other as neighbors?
Demands
1. Incarceration and Immigrant Rights
● A permanent halt to the construction of the “temporary” World Cup Jail on Front Street.
● No street sweeps or business raids.
● Widely distributed and publicly advertised information explaining the rights of workers, residents, and any tourists passing through the KC Metro area with focus on areas anticipated to experience disproportionate impact from World Cup crowds.
2. Worker Protections and Rights
● A widely advertised report line for any workers who experience workplace abuses such as inhumane hours and unsafe conditions brought on by management and World Cup work conditions.
● A Living Wage of $23/hour for service workers.
● Enforcement of heat breaks for workers at major events such as FanFest and during the World Cup matches along with cooling stations sufficient to meet the demands of the summer heat.
3. Public Necessities
● Provision of public restrooms, including gender-neutral options, for high-traffic areas, including but not limited to: the River Market, NEKC, P&L, Westport, the Plaza, the Crossroads, and the wider Downtown area.
● Establishing a point of contact between the host committee and each of the major high-traffic areas above so that updates and issues can be effectively communicated between the host committee and KC’s communities.
4. Care for the Unhoused
● The general safety of the unhoused population by de-prioritizing arrests and provisioning resources targeted at the unhoused population during and after the World Cup, especially for youth due to trafficking concerns.
● No encampment sweeps that would further displace and endanger the unhoused population at a time where they are already at risk from heat, trafficking, and further marginalization.
● No less than 50 additional beds will be made available by the start of the World Cup, a quantity that is already insufficient for current unhoused needs and likely to be seasonal at most in duration.
5. Transit
● Bus fare remains free.
● Know Your Rights information and resources posted widely around streetcar stops.
● No KCATA cuts. No service cuts for routes #9, #12, #21, #23, #25, #27, #57, #71, and #210. No frequency cuts. No climate austerity.
Signatories
AIRR KC
Boots on the Ground Midwest
Decarcerate KC
Kansas City Democratic Socialists of America
Party for Socialism and Liberation Kansas City
Sunrise Movement KC
