{"text":[[{"start":5.4,"text":"The writer is a former Mexican ambassador to the US"}],[{"start":8.9,"text":"In 2009, as Mexico’s ambassador in Washington, I began publicly advocating for the strategic merits of a joint Mexico-US bid for the 2026 World Cup. I argued that there were few more effective means than football for sending the message that the two countries needed to become partners in success instead of accomplices to failure. "}],[{"start":30.049999999999997,"text":"A joint tournament could project the North American alliance and its regional “brand” to the world. Moreover, the deep ties between our peoples gave the bid unparalleled social and cultural resonance. And unlike previous World Cups, our three nations would not need to build stadiums from scratch but could modernise existing venues, while providing much-needed upgrades to border infrastructure and transport networks. President Barack Obama picked up the idea at the 2013 North American Leaders’ Summit, and the rest, as they say, is history. "}],[{"start":63.849999999999994,"text":"The bid, which eventually included Canada alongside Mexico and the US, was always about much more than just football. Unfortunately, the three North American governments in power today seem to have forgotten their original motivation for hosting the tournament. Now, with the opening ceremony in Mexico City less than two months away, a tournament that could have made history, and moved the needle for the deepening of relations between North American countries, risks becoming a cautionary tale about squandered potential. "}],[{"start":93,"text":"The first World Cup to be shared among three nations was a rare and possibly unrepeatable chance to reshape the global perception of North America — not as countries who are increasingly divided today by political rhetoric and national grievance, but as parts of an integrated, dynamic region with a shared strategic vision for the 21st century."}],[{"start":113.6,"text":"But since the tournament was awarded in 2018, there has been no unified trilateral public diplomacy strategy. Each country has developed its own messaging and ancillary events in near-total isolation from the others. A co-ordinated tourism strategy could have encouraged visitors to cross borders and experience each of the host countries, multiplying stays and spending across the region and enhancing our soft power. Instead, each country has turned inwards, leaving billions in combined economic value on the table."}],[{"start":147.45,"text":"Then there is the question of security and border management. The US currently operates two separate trusted traveller programmes — Nexus with Canada and Global Entry with Mexico. The logical step, particularly for an administration laser-focused on border security and migration controls, would have been to integrate these two systems into a single North American trusted traveller programme that allows for streamlined, secure and reliable movement of Mexicans, Americans and Canadians across all three borders — not just for the duration of the tournament, but permanently. That opportunity has gone begging."}],[{"start":181.95,"text":"This World Cup could also have served as the launching pad for a set of concrete and durable diplomatic initiatives: a trilateral critical minerals pact to build a North American alternative to Chinese dominance in rare earth processing; enhance North American cyber security; an AI and digital trade framework; and a reinvigorated US-Mexico-Canada Agreement competitiveness committee explicitly tasked with developing a joint industrial strategy for strategic sectors, from semiconductors to electric vehicle batteries to pharmaceuticals. This chance has also been wasted."}],[{"start":215.04999999999998,"text":"And this matters acutely, since the USMCA is entering its statutory 2026 review. Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that Canada become the “51st state” and his persistent threats of unilateral military action against cartels on Mexican soil, both backed by the weaponisation of tariffs and of interdependence, have poisoned the North American relationship at the very moment the World Cup demands trilateral cohesion. A joint public diplomacy framework would not resolve these tensions, but it would send a powerful signal — to investors, allies and geopolitical rivals alike — that North America can be much more than the sum of its disputes."}],[{"start":256.9,"text":"The irony is that the three countries have successfully negotiated the immense operational challenge of co-hosting. They have collaborated on logistics and infrastructure, but have fumbled the chance to craft a joint narrative that gives wider meaning to the whole undertaking at a time when the whole world will be watching. "}],[{"start":275.29999999999995,"text":"There is still a chance for Mexico, the US and Canada to use this extraordinary moment to project unity and shared purpose, but the window is closing fast. The whistle is about to blow."}],[{"start":294.79999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777186512_6133.mp3"}