Stories

Mon, 20 Jul 2026

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 Thousands of websites taken down for illegal World Cup streams

More than 1,000 illegal streaming sites were shut down in the US during the tournament, with a similar amount blocked in Colombia.

* Almost 3,000 websites have been blocked or seized for illegally streaming World Cup matches.
* Over 1,000 domains were shut down in the US alone during the tournament.
* Enforcement agencies in America and South America carried out actions under investigations "Operation Offsides" and "Operation Red Card".
* The unauthorised broadcasting of World Cup matches violates intellectual property rights and "fuels criminal organisations", according to Ivan J. Arvelo, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC).
* Hundreds more websites have been taken down or blocked since the initial 400 webpages were seized by the DOJ last month.
* The crackdown was carried out in collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency that includes the NIPRCC.
* The illegal streaming of sports can cost companies and broadcasters billions of dollars a year, according to estimates.
* Analysts have described football piracy as being on an "industrial scale" due to its global popularity.
* The increasing cost of rights deals for matches has led to higher prices for fans at home, prompting some to turn to illegal streams.
* Four members of the "cybercriminal group" Los Ciberinfiltrados were arrested in Colombia for allegedly gaining and distributing access to World Cup games illegally.
* 11 people have been arrested and convicted for the illegal manufacture and distribution of fake sporting merchandise in Colombia.