The 42

MEXICAN PRESIDENT CLAUDIA Sheinbaum has offered “full guarantees” for the safety of football fans at World Cup games in the violence-plagued city of Guadalajara.

The situation is potentially of significant interest to Irish football supporters.

The Boys in Green face a World Cup playoff qualification semi-final away to Czechia on 26 March, before a possible final with either Denmark or North Macedonia in the Aviva Stadium on 31 March.

Should they win both games and reach the tournament, Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side will open their campaign on 11 June against South Korea at the Estadio Akron, Zapopan, which is near Guadalajara.

Ireland could also play their final group game on 24 June in Mexico, albeit at a different venue against the tournament’s co-hosts at the Estadio Azteca in Coyoacán.

Their second match on 18 June would take place at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, in the US.

Sheinbaum insisted there was “no risk” to fans visiting the city in June for four matches, in remarks coming after a wave of violence sparked by the military’s killing of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera.

The leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most wanted men in Mexico and the United States, was killed in a military operation some 130 kilometres from Jalisco state capital Guadalajara on Sunday.

The cartel reacted with fury, engaging in firefights with security forces that left dozens dead across Mexico – both soldiers and cartel members – and sent tourists and residents fleeing for cover.

Football’s world governing body, Fifa, declined to comment on the violence.

As calm returns, businesses in Jalisco are expected to reopen on Tuesday, with schools to follow suit on Wednesday.

Guadalajara is one of three Mexican cities that will host fixtures in the World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

© AFP 2026

Written by AFP and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.