This story is written by Monika Streule for Play the Game and narrated by Stanis Elsborg.

In this episode, urban anthropologist Monika Streule takes us to Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara, where 2026 World Cup-related projects, infrastructure upgrades, and urban development are colliding with local struggles over water, land, housing, public space, and environmental protection.

In Mexico City, residents near the Azteca Stadium continue to resist projects they fear will increase water scarcity, displacement, and gentrification.

In Monterrey, the build-up to the World Cup has intersected with long-running conflicts over public land, air pollution, water access, and the protection of rivers.

And in Guadalajara, the Akron Stadium and its surroundings near La Primavera forest raise questions about urban expansion, wildfire risks, pressure on water resources, and the limits of sustainability branding.

The episode looks beyond the global spectacle and asks what happens locally when the world’s biggest football tournament arrives.

Host: Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game

Author: Monika Streule, urban anthropologist and professor of social anthropology based in Mexico City

This episode is produced by Play the Game.

Music: Cold Case by Riverside