‘Less than human’: how unhoused people in Atlanta are being treated during the World Cup – video | World Cup 2026

“This is what happens when you apply these incredibly violent economic forces to these cities … it’s happened at every World Cup I’ve been to,” explains our chief sports writer, Barney Ronay.

Employees in Atlanta, Georgia, recently threw away tents, medication, identification and other belongings of unhoused people at a public park without warning. This led activists and a local official to point to an apparent violation of procedures created after a city employee ran over a tent with a front loader last year, killing a man. Cornelius Taylor was crushed inside his home as workers came to clear a homeless encampment.

The sweep through the park occurred less than a mile from a popular spot for World Cup watch parties, drawing into focus ongoing tension over the treatment of the city’s several thousand unhoused people during the tournament. A city official said the park where about 15 people have gathered for months was “not an encampment” and that the incident was not a sweep.

Watch Barney’s latest report from downtown Atlanta as the World Cup edges closer to the final – and for more of his video diaries follow Guardian Sport on TikTok.