Thousands of people, led by mothers of those who have disappeared during decades of drug violence, marched in Mexico’s capital on ​Sunday, protesting the violence and impunity plaguing the country as it prepares ‌to co-host the FIFA World Cup.

Collectives of mothers of the missing, who march every Mother’s Day, called on soccer fans to join them, saying in a statement that “there is nothing to celebrate, ​because the mothers of Mexico are playing the most difficult match: the one ​for justice.”

“Mexico, champion in disappearances,” protesters chanted as they marched down Paseo ⁠de la Reforma, the signature boulevard in Mexico City, holding banners and signs ​emblazoned with pictures of missing people. They passed a roundabout surrounded by metal barriers ​that are permanently covered with pictures of the disappeared.

“We had to start fighting, because no one wanted to take charge of the disappearance (case),” said Graciela Perez Rodriguez, whose daughter and four other relatives ​disappeared in 2012 in the northern state of Tamaulipas as they travelled on ​a highway after a trip to the U.S.

Mexico has more than 130,000 missing people, with disappearances surging ‌after ⁠2006, when the country launched its war on drug cartels.

Police and other government officials are often implicated in the crimes. Mothers who search for their missing children themselves when authorities fail to act are sometimes also targeted by criminal groups and killed.

In March, ​Mexican authorities said they ​had potentially identified ⁠more than 40,000 people listed as disappeared who may be alive, after a review of the national registry of missing persons showed ​some activity across other government records.

But the public policy group ​Mexico Evalua ⁠found there has been a 200% increase in disappearances over the last decade, due to the growing power of organised crime groups.

Rodriguez said she worries that the case of ⁠her ​missing family members is no longer a priority ​since almost 14 years have passed.

-Reuters

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Set-piece prowess may be reshaping club football, but FIFA’s Technical Study Group said on Monday that dead-ball dominance is unlikely to define this year’s World Cup, ​largely due to limited preparation time for international teams. 

Speaking at a FIFA media ‌roundtable a month before the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, TSG members discussed emerging trends, including Arsenal-style set-piece specialisation.

Premier League leaders Arsenal – dubbed the “set-piece kings” – last month smashed the record ​for most goals scored from corners in a single Premier League season.

“I’d be interested ​to see how the other teams approach this,” said Gilberto Silva, a 2002 ⁠World Cup winner with Brazil and former Arsenal midfielder.

“We have seen this season, especially ​in the Premier League with Arsenal. In the last few years, corner kicks and long balls ​have not been used as much compared to when I played, when they were more common. In the last few years, the game has developed, with teams building from the goalkeeper.

“But I’m not so sure the World ​Cup will be the same, because you don’t have much time to prepare a team ​for these tournaments. Of course, it can be a weapon and teams will use it, but not as ‌the ⁠main one.

“I expect tight games, with a lot of practical aspects and teams looking to exploit transitions to break through.”

Last year’s Club World Cup in the U.S., which served as a dress rehearsal for the showpiece tournament, also highlighted the potential impact of scorching heat.

“In general, the Club ​World Cup showed a ​very similar level of ⁠intensity in the matches compared to the 2022 World Cup when we looked at some of the key games,” said Tom Gardner, Lead ​of Football Performance Insights.

“So I’m sure heat may be a factor in ​how teams ⁠manage that. But we don’t expect to see on a physical level very similar outputs to 2022, as we did at the 2025 Club World Cup.”

The TSG will provide analysis of all matches ⁠at ​the World Cup. Guided by FIFA Chief of Global ​Football Development Arsene Wenger, the group includes figures such as Silva, Juergen Klinsmann and Pablo Zabaleta, and is supported by ​a team of analysts and data specialists.

-Reuters

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By Kunle Solaja

After an abrupt end to his latest spell with the Black Stars, former Ghana coach Otto Addo has quickly resurfaced on the global football stage following his appointment to FIFA’s elite Technical Study Group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Addo, whose tenure with Ghana ended in March 2026 amid growing criticism and disappointing results, has now been handed a prestigious analytical and developmental role by FIFA ahead of football’s biggest tournament.

In what many observers see as a remarkable rebound, the former Borussia Dortmund assistant coach will join a star-studded panel of football experts responsible for dissecting all 104 matches of the expanded FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Technical Study Group, assembled under the guidance of former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, includes respected football figures such as Jürgen Klinsmann, Gilberto Silva, Tobin Heath and Pablo Zabaleta.

For Addo, the appointment offers a fresh chapter after a turbulent period with Ghana’s national team. Although his second stint with the Black Stars failed to meet expectations, FIFA’s decision to include him among the game’s leading technical minds suggests his tactical insight and football knowledge remain highly regarded internationally.

The Technical Study Group will be led by former Switzerland goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbühler and will provide advanced tactical and performance analysis throughout the tournament using live data, multiple video angles and enhanced football intelligence tools.

FIFA said the group would help identify modern trends in football while offering deeper insights to broadcasters, coaches, players and fans.

“The Technical Study Group helps identify trends in the game, prepare future generations for football’s development and contribute to making the sport more exciting,” Wenger explained in FIFA’s statement unveiling the panel.

For the first time in World Cup history, fans will also receive real-time technical insights from the experts through the FIFA Training Centre’s social media platforms and YouTube channel.

Addo, who earned 15 caps for Ghana as a player and guided the Black Stars at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, now returns to the global stage in a different capacity, not on the touchline, but in the tactical brain trust shaping the understanding of the modern game.

His appointment could also be viewed as a personal redemption story, with the coach finding renewed relevance at the highest level of world football despite his difficult exit from the Ghana job. 

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