"After more headline evidence this week of the extreme nature of American gun violence, some may conclude that the answer is no. Nine months out from the opening game, it is now almost impossible to ignore this. But believe it or not statistics suggest more than 300 people will have been shot in America last Wednesday alone. The same number will also be shot on Friday, Saturday, every day next week, and every day of World Cup year."
"Within this, youth gun deaths will be both alarmingly high and a register of social injustice: a disproportionate 46% of all young people shot will be black. So maybe the events of Wednesday really do suggest America isn't a fitting World Cup host. Maybe it hasn't been for a while, as members of the African media suggested while questioning Gianni Infantino in Nairobi a few days ago, expressing alarm at the hostile policies of the Fifa president's special friend Donald Trump."
More than 300 people are being shot on a typical recent day in the United States, with an average of 127 gun-related deaths each day. Youth gun deaths are alarmingly high and racially disproportionate, with 46% of young people shot being black. Questions about safety and racial hostility have been raised by members of the African media while questioning Gianni Infantino. Infantino dismissed concerns and assured that the US is not hostile to non-white visitors. Hosting the World Cup offers a multibillion-dollar boost but also risks acting as sportswashing for a regime using immigration theatrics and imposing brutal visa curbs.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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