Club World Cup: PSG arrives in Los Angeles amid tensions in the United States over Trump's immigration policy

Demonstrations to denounce the mass arrests of illegal immigrants and the Trump administration's immigration policy. The deployment of 4,000 California National Guard reservists and 700 Marines, an elite corps of the active army, ordered by the President of the United States. A curfew decreed in downtown Los Angeles and some towns in its metropolitan area by Democratic Mayor Karen Bass... In the City of Angels, the FIFA Club World Cup, held in the United States from Saturday, June 14 to Sunday, July 13, seems clearly out of step with local concerns.

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, located more than fifteen kilometers from the city center of the country's second largest city, is hosting six matches in the competition, including the first two matches of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), on Sunday, June 15 against Atlético de Madrid, then on Thursday, June 19 against the Brazilian team Botafogo. This does not seem to overly worry the International Federation (FIFA), which assures that it is in contact with the local authorities and monitoring the development of the situation, as is customary for each tournament. No clashes have been reported there so far.

Luis Enrique's men – winners of the Champions League against Inter Milan (5-0) on May 31st and the only French team to qualify for this new format (32 teams) World Cup – arrived on the West Coast on the evening of Tuesday, June 10th. Far from the tensions, they set up camp in the south of the megalopolis, in Newport Beach, their training camp being located in the neighboring city of Irvine, on the campus of the University of California.

The current situation could, however, hamper the plans of the Parisian club's management, which is always on the lookout for new markets and for which this competition represents a major commercial opportunity. It has notably planned to open a "PSG House" on the Melrose Avenue shopping street in Los Angeles, with a pitch, augmented reality booths, and other boutiques, where players, influencers, and creators will come to participate in broadcasts and events.

As protests against the Trump administration's measures spread to other cities across the United States, local NBC Florida reported that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be present around Club World Cup stadiums.

According to the television station, ICE announced that its members would participate in security operations for the event, while specifying that non-American fans attending the matches must have proof of their legal presence in the country. In total, 12 stadiums across the country will host the matches. And on Saturday, June 14 (2 a.m. Paris time, Saturday night to Sunday), the opening match will pit Inter Miami, led by Argentinian star Lionel Messi, against Cairo's Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.