The wait is over. Tomorrow evening, the World Cup begins at the Azteca stadium, Mexico City, where the co-hosts Mexico face South Africa. The game is the first of 104 matches to be played by 48 nations across Canada, Mexico and the US before the 19 July final. Millions will attend matches and billions more will watch the biggest single sport tournament on the planet.
As so often seems to be the case, one man looms large over events: Donald Trump. Fifa has sought to develop a close relationship with the US president, awarding him a specially invented prize after he was overlooked for an actual award by the Nobel committee. Trump will probably present the World Cup trophy to the winning team. His administration’s unprecedented approach to the event has received little pushback from organisers.
