Adayfi has reportedly called for a boycott “para dar voz às vítimas” - to give victims a voice. The report says he described torture, unlawful detention and interrogations that nearly killed him before he was transferred to Guantánamo.
Football, in his account, offered only a tightly controlled escape. Selected prisoners could receive balls, uniforms and limited access to recreation areas, while football was also presented during visits by media delegations. A pitch opened at Camp Six, but Adayfi reportedly said the surface was dust and gravel, with balls bursting against the fencing.
For Moazzam Begg, the former detainee cited in the report, watching the 2010 World Cup on television provided a connection to a world beyond the prison. His wider account, however, describes years without formal charges and severe restrictions on daily life.
The United States will use the World Cup to project energy, openness and global leadership. That is natural for any host nation. Yet major tournaments have increasingly become stages for questions about human rights, political power and the gap between branding and lived experience.
The US government has officially rejected the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques and denies torture, while the report says former detainees and rights groups continue to make grave allegations. Those claims require careful scrutiny, but they cannot be dismissed simply because football is providing the spectacle.
As the tournament moves towards its opening matches, the debate may extend beyond stadiums, fan parks and commercial celebrations. The question for organisers is whether football can acknowledge uncomfortable histories rather than allowing them to disappear behind the event’s glamour.