THIS year will see one of the most fan-unfriendly tournaments in the history of association football, but football supporters continue to fight back, determined to make sure the game in some way continues to represent those for whom a club is more than just the entertainment product it is now sold as.

The game’s latest money-making racket, called the Fifa 2026 World Cup, is reaching the point where even those who have bought tickets are beginning to feel scammed, as the actual details of their seats are revealed as the tournament gets closer, and Fifa changes the seating plans and categorisation to further exploit fans.

The cost of this World Cup has forced many to miss the tournament as it is simply out of reach financially. The cost of tickets is one thing, but travel to and within the United States, Canada and Mexico, across a vast continent, is not cheap, and there are additional costs at every turn.

Others will take a stand through choice. Opting to boycott this tournament because of what the current US regime represents, and Fifa’s, or at least its president Gianni Infantino’s, endorsement of it, even as it threatens the freedom of movement of traveling fans and competing teams.

The issues around this World Cup have been documented in these pages in the weeks, months and years, building up to this tournament, including the warnings from previous competitions in the region that were not heeded, and the combination of Fifa plus the United States has led to a tournament that epitomises the way top-level football has gone.

It might now be time to turn attention to what is going on to counteract this. The antidote to the Fifa World Cup and the groups working to make sure football still represents the fans and local communities it was built in and by.

There are a couple of events this summer that the Morning Star will be covering, which are the antithesis of the Fifa World Cup.

The first takes place in Liverpool, a couple of days after the World Cup kicks off.

A Festival of Fan Activism is being organised by a relatively new club called FC Community of Liverpool.

“FC Community of Liverpool is built on a simple idea: women’s football shouldn’t be an afterthought, members should make the real decisions and a football club should actually belong to its community,” reads a statement on the club’s website. “Every member gets a share, a vote and a say in how we grow.”

The Festival of Fan Activism builds on this idea. It takes place from mid-day on Saturday, June 13, with talks throughout the afternoon at the Dock Wall Bar, before live music and DJs in the evening on the nearby waterfront.

Four panels will focus on four different issues: Activism in the boardroom, in the community, in the women’s game and inclusion. Guests with relevant experience from across Europe will be present at these discussion panels.

We will cover more on this nearer the time, and more on some other goings on elsewhere in the world of grassroots community football during the summer, but for now, tickets and more information on this event can be found here or by searching “festival of fan activism Liverpool.”

This comes at a time when another team from the city, the current Premier League champions, Liverpool FC, have announced annual ticket price increases for the next three years.

The club used the excuse that the ticket price increases “will be in line with CPI annual inflation rate,” as if they are a mobile phone company or TV subscription service informing you of an increase to your monthly bill.

But if the price of tickets had aligned with inflation since the early 1990s, the cost of a ticket for a top-level Premier League match would be somewhere around £15.

Liverpool supporters’ union Spirit of Shankly is beginning a series of measures and protests against these price rises at the Fulham game at Anfield this weekend. They are encouraging fans to spend money at local independent retailers outside the ground, rather than inside it. After next week’s game against PSG, when the club mark the 37th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, there will also be none of the usual flags and banners in the Kop grandstand.

Such moves have been backed by fan groups across the country, including a new supporters’ union, the Citizens Trust, started by fans of Liverpool’s biggest competitive rivals on the pitch in recent years, Manchester City.

“The lack of a supporters’ trust at City has long been a missing link in the chain between the club and its fans,” Interim chair of the trust Nick Clarke told the Football Supporters’ Association about the new organisation.

“Now, our fans have an opportunity to build a strong, collective voice to reinforce that link.

“Supporters across the country feel increasingly disconnected from the modern game, often feeling powerless in relation to decisions impacting both their clubs and traditions they’ve built over generations — Blues are no different.

“This is our chance to begin reversing that trend at City in a really positive way.”

From Liverpool to Manchester, and, as we will find out this summer, from many parts of the football world, fans, and grassroots clubs and organisations, are fighting back or looking for alternatives to make sure the sport retains its links to its roots.