SoFi Stadium workers authorize strike as Iran visa limbo and Mexico City altitude shape World Cup buildup

Labor unrest in Los Angeles

Around 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium voted Friday to authorize a strike, just six days before the venue hosts the United States' opening World Cup match against Paraguay. The union, UNITE HERE Local 11, said 96% of its members backed the measure, which covers cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders and concessions staff employed by stadium operator Legends Global. The existing contract has already expired and multiple negotiation sessions failed to produce a new deal.

We want fair wages that we think we are due, but the other thing we want is the security and safety of employees and guests. If we cannot get those things, our folks are ready to walk.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume Monday. The union has also demanded that no U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers be permitted inside venues during the tournament, arguing workers must have the right to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement enters the stadium. FIFA requires background checks for all stadium workers, and any replacement hires would lack prior approval.

Iran's visa standoff

Iran's national team still has not received U.S. visas ten days before its first match in Los Angeles, the country's ambassador to Mexico said Thursday. Abolfazl Pasandideh, speaking at the Iranian embassy in Mexico City, described a frantic effort to relocate the squad's base from Arizona to Tijuana due to the visa issues and a desire to minimize the team's presence on U.S. soil. They are scheduled to land in Tijuana early Sunday morning.

Sport and the World Cup were created to bring nations closer together. But we are not witnessing that right now.

The ambassador said the U.S. has never formally stated it does not want the Iranian team on its territory, but added that "through its actions, it has shown that Iranians have no place there." The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The tournament marks the first World Cup in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with, as the Iran conflict enters its fourth month.

Mexico's altitude edge

Mexico City's Estadio Azteca sits at more than 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level, while Guadalajara is at 5,138 feet (1,566 meters). Mexican football commissioner Mikel Arriola called the combination of altitude and home support "a very potent setting." Sports scientists recommend either an extended two-week acclimatization period or a "fly-in, fly-out" approach to mitigate fatigue from lower oxygen availability.

You would expect a faster onset of fatigue, higher heart rates at any given running intensity, and a reduced capacity to sustain the high-intensity efforts that define modern international football.

Mexico opens the tournament against South Africa on June 11 at the Azteca, faces South Korea near Guadalajara on June 18, and returns to Mexico City to play Czechia on June 24. No U.S. or Canadian venues exceed 1,050 feet in elevation.

Broader tensions around the tournament

Human rights groups and immigrant communities in the 11 U.S. host cities have raised concerns that the Trump administration's immigration policies could dampen enthusiasm. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said last month that ICE would work with other DHS agencies on cases involving counterfeiting and human trafficking during the tournament. Local organizing committees have said ICE will be involved in general stadium security but not broader enforcement sweeps.

Ticket pricing has also drawn criticism. Thousands of seats remain available for the U.S. opener against Paraguay, and figures including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey have pushed back on what they describe as impossibly high prices. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has faced scrutiny over his relationship with Donald Trump.