The French men's national soccer team, captained by Kylian Mbappé, has used a charter airline company that is central to the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign for at least three domestic flights during the 2026 World Cup. Images posted on social media and flight tracking data show the team used Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) for flights between their games and base camp in Boston.
GlobalX has operated more than half of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's removal flights in 2024 and 2025, according to a Guardian investigation. The company has flown thousands of detainees domestically and internationally, often without notice, to locations far from their families and legal counsel, leading to alleged constitutional due process violations. Among other destinations, GlobalX has transported detainees to El Salvador's Cecot mega-prison.
Plane Used for Deportation Flights
The specific aircraft that carried the French team after their match against Paraguay on 4 July has flown 44 deportation-related flights in 2025 alone and about 950 since 2022. Just days before, on 1 July, the same plane was used to transfer detained immigrants from an Arizona detention center to Louisiana, according to data from ICE Flight Monitor, a group that tracks ICE flights using publicly available aviation data.
“It’s common for certain carriers to oscillate between operating ICE flights and other private entity charter flights, including athletic teams, within a week or even on the same day,” said Sierra Randolph, a data manager for ICE Flight Monitor.
The Guardian began investigating after a video posted on the team's official Instagram showed players including Michael Olise boarding a flight from Philadelphia to Boston. A GlobalX logo was visible on an overhead compartment. Flightradar24 data confirmed the aircraft departed Philadelphia around midnight on 5 July and arrived at Boston Logan about 1 a.m.
Players' Political Activism
The French team includes several outspoken players. Mbappé, whose father is Cameroonian and mother of Algerian descent, has repeatedly condemned far-right politicians. In 2024, he called gains by the anti-immigration National Rally party “catastrophic” and urged young people to prevent the country from “falling into the hands of these people.”
Teammates Ousmane Dembélé, Jules Koundé, and Marcus Thuram have also encouraged citizens to vote. Thuram's father, World Cup winner Lilian Thuram, is a longtime activist. Zinedine Zidane spoke out against National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen in 2017. Mbappé recently hit back at a Paraguayan senator after a racist attack, calling her a “despicable woman.”
Members of the National Rally have responded with a “shut up and dribble” attitude, mocking the players' activism. The French team, like many national squads, is multicultural and seen as a reflection of the country's diversity.
France is not alone in using GlobalX. The Daily Mail reported that England's national squad also had a contract with the airline, and Iran used it as well. The English Football Association declined to comment. GlobalX and the French national team did not respond to requests for comment.
