The French men’s national soccer team, featuring star player Kylian Mbappé, an outspoken critic of far-right politics, has been traveling with an airline entwined in the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
Recent social media posts and flight tracking information indicate that the French squad has chartered flights with Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) for at least three domestic trips between their World Cup matches and their base in Boston. This airline has conducted over half of the removal flights for ICE in 2024 and 2025.
A detailed investigation in 2025 uncovered how the airline facilitated the transportation of thousands of detainees—both domestically and internationally—without prior notice, separating them from their families and legal representation. Reports have surfaced of detainees being sent to infamous facilities, such as El Salvador’s Cecot mega-prison, often left unaware of their flight’s destination and subjected to restraints.
GlobalX has not yet responded to inquiries for comment, nor have representatives from the French national team addressed multiple requests for statements.
The aircraft utilized by the French team following their match against Paraguay has conducted 44 deportation-related flights this year alone, tallying nearly 950 since 2022. On July 1, the same plane transported immigrants from a detention facility in Arizona to Louisiana, as revealed by data from ICE Flight Monitor, which tracks such flights and publishes reports on them.
Sierra Randolph, a data manager for ICE Flight Monitor, remarked, “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,”
The inquiry into this matter was prompted by a video shared on the team’s official Instagram, which depicted players, including Michael Olise of Bayern Munich, making their way to their seats on a flight from Philadelphia to Boston after the team’s 1-0 win over Paraguay. A GlobalX logo sticker was visible as Olise passed a flight attendant.
Flight data from Flightradar24 corroborated that an Airbus departed Philadelphia International Airport around midnight on July 5, arriving at Boston Logan International Airport shortly after. Researchers at the ICE Flight Monitor identified the flight as one they routinely monitor for immigration enforcement purposes.
Mbappé, whose mixed heritage includes a Cameroonian father and an Algerian mother, is not only one of France’s top players but also a prominent voice against far-right ideologies. He has criticized the National Rally party, known for its anti-immigration stance, calling their progress “falling into the hands of these people” and encouraging young people to prevent the nation from “falling into the hands of these people.”
Other players have echoed Mbappé’s sentiments. Forward Ousmane Dembélé and defender Jules Koundé have also urged French citizens to participate in elections, alongside forward Marcus Thuram, whose father, World Cup champion Lilian Thuram, has a long-standing history of activism. Notably, Zinedine Zidane, another football legend, has vocally opposed Marine Le Pen, the National Rally’s presidential candidate, in the past.
In a recent incident, Mbappé responded to a Paraguayan senator’s racist remarks by labeling her a “despicable woman.”
Members of the National Rally have reacted dismissively to the criticisms from the French national team, adopting a pervasive “shut up and dribble” mentality that has emerged in professional sports. The French team, like many national squads, represents a diverse and multicultural demographic reflective of the broader French society.
France is not the only nation whose teams have used GlobalX for World Cup travel this summer. Reports indicate that England’s national squad also contracted with GlobalX, while Iran reportedly utilized the same airline. A spokesperson for the English Football Association, which arranged the England team’s flight, declined to comment.
