Nearly 3,000 websites have been blocked or seized for illegally streaming World Cup matches, the US Department of Justice has announced. More than 1,000 domains were shut down in the US alone during the tournament, with a similar number blocked in Colombia as enforcement agencies across the Americas coordinated under investigations named “operation offsides” and “operation red card”.
Ivan J. Arvelo, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC), said unauthorised broadcasting violated intellectual property rights and “fuels criminal organizations”. The DOJ’s assistant attorney general A. Tysen Duva called the operation “a sustained effort” that “confirms the administration’s commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup”.
“Nearly 3,000 websites blocked or seized for illegally streaming World Cup matches, US says.”
The crackdown, largely overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), included support from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), FIFA, beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Warner Brothers. Charles Rivkin, chairman of ACE, said the World Cup was “the kind of global live event that piracy networks move quickly to exploit”.
The Colombian Attorney General’s Office made several arrests, including four members of the cybercriminal group Los Ciberinfiltrados, who allegedly gained and distributed illegal access to World Cup games. Another 830 websites were blocked in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and other countries.
Pirated football streams operate at an “industrial scale”, according to analysts, costing broadcasters billions of dollars annually. The rising cost of rights deals has pushed up prices for fans, driving some towards illegal streams to avoid paying for multiple services. FIFA, which relies heavily on broadcasting rights revenue, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.