A recent social media post by Ariel Marrero Aguilar has circulated, alleging that FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to the United States solely to divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein files. The tweet, which included a link, stated, > "La FIFA le otorgó la sede de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol a Estados Unidos solo para desviar la atención de los Expedientes EPSTEIN." This claim, however, is factually inaccurate, as the timeline of events for both the World Cup host selection and the significant unsealing of Epstein-related documents shows a considerable chronological gap.
The decision to grant the hosting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the joint bid of the United States, Canada, and Mexico was made on June 13, 2018. This announcement occurred during the 68th FIFA Congress held in Moscow, where the "United Bid" secured 134 votes, triumphing over a rival bid from Morocco. The 2026 tournament is set to be the largest in history, featuring 48 teams and 80 matches across the three North American nations.
Conversely, the major public unsealing of court documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network, often referred to as the "Epstein Files," took place significantly later. The first substantial batch of these documents was made public in early January 2024, as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell. Subsequent releases continued throughout early 2024, revealing names and details associated with the disgraced financier.
Given these established timelines, the claim that the 2026 World Cup host selection was a distraction from the Epstein files is chronologically impossible. The World Cup decision predates the major public revelations of the Epstein documents by over five years. Fact-checking organizations, including Reuters and Snopes, have widely debunked this specific conspiracy theory, highlighting the clear disparity in the dates of these two distinct events.
