Canada launches a tip line for 2026 FIFA World Cup collusion

Canada’s competition authority has set up a digital tip line to report suspected collusion in 2026 FIFA World Cup contracts.

With seven games scheduled for the World Cup in Vancouver and six more in Toronto, the secretariat expects the tournament to generate a large number of contracts in many sectors of the economy, including construction, entertainment and tourism.

The agency said the initiative will help “deter and detect illegal agreements between competitors.”

“If you suspect that bidders are cheating to win contracts linked to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, the Competition Bureau invites you to submit a tip,” says the bureau’s website.

Tips can be submitted anonymously.

A website’s tip line states that “collusion results in higher prices, poorer quality, and an uneven playing field for businesses.”

Illegal activities include:

Price fixing: A competitor agrees to fix the price of a product or service.
Bid Manipulation: Competitors agree to manipulate the results of a bidding process.
Non-Competition: Participants agree not to compete with each other.
Wage Setting: Employer undertakes to set wages.
No Poaching: Competitors agree not to employ each other’s employees.

The cost of hosting the Vancouver portion of the competition has not been disclosed by the city or province, but British Columbia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Lana Popham promised to release information soon.

Toronto estimates hosting six World Cup games will cost taxpayers $380 million.

CBC News reached out to the Canadian Competition Bureau and FIFA, but no representatives from either were available for interviews Friday.

The tip line is part of a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Competition Bureau, and Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission.

Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Cantor of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division said in a statement that the organization remains vigilant against anticompetitive practices that exploit the economic opportunities created by the tournament.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature 104 matches across 3 countries and 16 cities over 39 days.