FIFA reverses World Cup press conference stance and will allow questions in Spanish
· Yahoo Sports
FIFA has reportedly changed its language protocol at the 2026 World Cup and will now allow questions and answers in Spanish during official press conferences.
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The move follows criticism after players were reportedly stopped or corrected when attempting to respond in Spanish during media duties in the early stages of the tournament.
The 2026 World Cup is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, making the Spanish-language issue especially prominent during official media activity.
FIFA changes stance after Spanish-language controversy
FIFA has reportedly reversed its stance after backlash over the way Spanish was handled in World Cup press conferences.
The updated approach will allow journalists to ask questions in Spanish and players to answer in Spanish, even when the language is not one of the official languages of the national team involved.
Spanish is also set to be used as an additional interpretation language at press conferences, giving officials, players and media members a clearer system.
The initial interpretation setup reportedly provided English and two languages requested by the national teams, which left Spanish unavailable in some media settings.
Achraf Hakimi and Vinícius Jr incidents brought issue into focus
The issue gained attention after Achraf Hakimi, Vinícius Jr and Frenkie de Jong were all cited in reports about players being stopped or corrected when attempting to use Spanish.
Hakimi reportedly tried to answer a TV Azteca journalist in Spanish before responding in English, while Vinícius Jr reportedly asked for a question to be put to him in Spanish because he was struggling with the English wording.
The same report said De Jong was willing to answer in Spanish when addressed in the language, only to be instructed to respond in English.
The change removes an early tournament flashpoint and should make official media duties more practical for Spanish-speaking journalists and players at the World Cup.
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