Close to 3,000 websites have been shut down or blocked after authorities uncovered illegal streaming operations targeting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced.

More than 1,000 domains were seized in the United States alone during the tournament, with a comparable number blocked in Colombia. Enforcement agencies across the US and South America conducted the crackdowns under two coordinated investigations — dubbed Operation Offsides and Operation Red Card.

A sustained campaign against digital piracy

Ivan J. Arvelo, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC), stated that the unauthorised broadcasting of World Cup matches infringes on intellectual property rights and "fuels criminal organizations."

The DOJ had already announced the removal of 400 webpages at the end of last month. The latest figures confirm that hundreds more have since been taken down or blocked.

"The sustained effort to seize more than a thousand domains dedicated to illegally streaming the World Cup confirms the administration's commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup," said A. Tysen Duva, the DOJ's assistant attorney general.

The operation has been largely overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency that houses the NIPRCC.

Football pirated at industrial scale

Illegal sports streams typically emerge through websites built specifically around major events. Industry analysts say football is pirated at an "industrial scale" owing to its global reach, and broadcasters estimate the activity costs them billions of dollars annually.

Rising rights fees have pushed subscription costs higher for fans — particularly those paying across multiple platforms to follow their club or national team — driving some to seek out illegal streams instead.

Charles Rivkin, chairman of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), which supported the enforcement effort, described the World Cup as the "kind of global live event that piracy networks move quickly to exploit."

Arrests made in Colombia and beyond

The crackdown received backing from FIFA, beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Warner Brothers. Much of FIFA's revenue depends on the sale of broadcasting rights to global media networks, making piracy a direct financial threat to the organisation.

The Colombian Attorney General's Office confirmed several arrests linked to the investigations. Four members of an alleged cybercriminal group known as Los Ciberinfiltrados were detained for reportedly obtaining and distributing unauthorised access to World Cup fixtures.

A further 830 websites in Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic were also taken offline. Colombian police additionally carried out nationwide search-and-seizure operations targeting counterfeit sports clothing, resulting in 11 people being arrested and convicted for the illegal manufacture and distribution of fake sporting merchandise.