World Cup 2026 schedule announcement live updates: Latest as FIFA selects host city for final

One topic that can’t be ignored is the varying political climates in New Jersey, New York and Texas. In short, two sides could not be more ideologically different or on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

In recent months, one of the biggest political tensions between New York and Texas has been the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Political tensions hit a high when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, began bussing migrants to cities like New York, angering Democratic officials. By December and early January, about 1,000 migrants passed through New Jersey on their way to New York City to circumvent new city rules, as reported by New Jersey Monitor, prompting calls last week from Gov. Phil Murphy and other Democratic governors urging President Joe Biden to solve this “humanitarian crisis.”

There are also differences when it comes to gun reform, reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights. New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Texas is the largest state to ban nearly all abortions after the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade. There’s also the question of LGBTQ+ rights, with the Human Rights Campaign saying Texas is responsible for more than 20 percent of the more than 500 anti-LGTBQ+ bills last year across the country.

These issues may seem far removed from soccer, but human rights issues were widely debated and reported on during the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar and continue to be contentious topics as global investment in soccer continues to grow.