US DOJ seizes nearly 400 domains illegally streaming the 2026 World Cup
The US Justice Department seized nearly 400 domains streaming 2026 World Cup matches illegally, its largest sports-piracy takedown ever, roughly five times the Qatar 2022 effort. Officials warn the real risk to viewers is security: pirate streams routinely carry malware and steal
The US Justice Department has seized nearly 400 internet domains that were used to illegally stream matches from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in what officials describe as the largest sports-piracy enforcement action in US history, roughly five times the scale of the comparable crackdown during the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The operation, named Operation Offsides, was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia and coordinated with international partners, reaching servers and domains in Peru, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Poland and Colombia. Rights holders and industry groups including FIFA, beIN Media Group, NBCUniversal, the Motion Picture Association's anti-piracy alliance, the UFC and Warner Bros. helped identify the sites. The copyright angle is the obvious one, but officials emphasized a second message aimed at viewers: illegal streaming platforms are a common delivery route for malware and for connections that can expose personal and financial data. In other words, the cost of a free pirated stream is often paid in security risk rather than money. The scale of the takedown, and its coordination across at least six countries, signals that authorities are treating large-scale live-sports piracy as an organized, cross-border operation rather than a scattering of hobbyist sites. For viewers tempted by free streams during a global tournament, the practical takeaway is that these sites are increasingly being pulled offline and increasingly being watched.