Jemele Hill has called out FIFA for not displaying anti-racism messages during Club World Cup matches in the US.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Women's World Cup, "No Racism" and "No Discrimination" campaigns were on display as the federation supported marginalized groups across the globe.

But after Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, attempted to win favor, the federations’ messages of anti-racism and anti-discrimination were noticeably absent at US stadiums. Facing harsh criticism, FIFA displayed a message in honor of “International Day for Countering Hate Speech.”

FIFA’s decision was quite similar to the NFL choosing not to put an “End Racism” message in the endzone of Super Bowl LIX after several years of the practice.

During the latest episode of her web series “Spolitics”, Hill criticized the international soccer organization for rolling back the anti-racism messages.

“Perhaps Infantino decided that just for the Club World Cup, let’s just let racism feel a little more at home,” Hill said. 

Hill also stated that sports organizations will support social justice initiatives when it has been “politically and culturally” expedient.

“I’ve long let go of any hope that leagues, teams, and other sports organizations actually care about making any real impact when it comes to social justice. They care about looking racist. They don’t care about being racist. They care about performance and optics,” Hill said.

“Meanwhile, the players that power their leagues are impacted by the social issues that they readily abandon when it’s time to take a real stand,” she added. 

As the controversy continues to swirl, Hill doesn’t believe that boycotting the World Cup next year will have much traction because of the influence of those in power.

“Some have suggested that FIFA should withdraw next year’s World Cup from the United States. But considering the World Cup has been in Qatar and Russia, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the moral compass of a country isn’t a high priority for them,” Hill argued.

“Others have encouraged people to boycott the World Cup and the Club World Cup, but I can’t say I anticipate there will be any major needle moving in that direction because people love their sports,” she concluded. “Which is the reason countries that are shaky when it comes to human rights and dictatorships love to use sports as a shield to cover up the ugliness they don’t want the world to see. I’m Jemele Hill and I approve this message.”