FIFA expands World Cup press conference translation, but only for Spanish

One day after a viral video showed a FIFA official preventing a Mexican journalist from asking a question in Spanish, FIFA is changing its press conference translation rules.

The question came before the Morocco-Brazil group-stage match at “New Jersey Stadium” during the 2026 World Cup. Rodrigo Ornelas of Mexico’s TV Azteca asked Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, who was born in Spain and speaks Spanish.

Here is the video in full

A Mexican journalist wanted to ask a question in Spanish, but he wasn’t allowed to until PSG star Achraf Hakimi stepped in and made it happen. ❤️

“Really proud to have fans in your country, I love Mexico, I’m happy that you guys love me”. 🇲🇦🤝🏼🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/oTda6W9ngp

— All Fútbol MX 🇲🇽 (@AllFutbolMX) June 13, 2026

Following backlash from the viral video, according to a report by Kyle Bonn at Sporting News, FIFA will ensure that a Spanish translation is available for all press conferences. Previously, FIFA only provided translations in English and the languages requested by the participating teams. In the case of Morocco against Brazil, the languages were Arabic and Portuguese.

These press conferences are a major logistical issue for FIFA. It’s not realistic for FIFA to provide a translator for every language in the world. But ff you allow questions in any language and don’t provide a good translator, that becomes a major accessibility problem for players and broadcasters.

Allowing teams to choose one language is a reasonable decision, and English, for better or worse, is used as a universal language in many fields, including in communications between pilots and air traffic controllers.

On the other hand, the tournament is not just being hosted by the United States. Why should Mexican journalists be required to learn English to cover a World Cup their country is also hosting?

Of course, this doesn’t solve the PR problem that made the original video go viral in the first place. Under the revised policy, if a French-Canadian journalist tried to ask a question in French, they would still be shut down by FIFA officials.

It is certainly better for Spanish speakers, both in Mexico and around the world, to be able to ask questions in their language. But it’s not clear this move by FIFA will meaningfully improve accessibility for fans, reporters and players, especially for those who do not speak English, Spanish or the primary language of the countries playing.