Mexico's Anti-Corruption Secretariat penalized the football federation for collecting fans' facial-recognition data for stadium FAN IDs without proper consent.

This article by José Shaddai Olvera Torres originally appeared in the July 13, 2026 edition of El Chamuco y los Hijos del Averno, a Mexican political satire magazine.

(July 13, 2026).- The Anti-Corruption Secretariat sanctioned the Mexican Football Federation for failures in the protection of personal data during the registration and operation of the FAN ID.

The Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance imposed a fine of 42,849,095 pesos on the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) for violations of personal data protection legislation related to the FAN ID digital identification system.

Official communiqué from Mexico's Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance announcing the sanction

Image: Secretariat of Anti-Corruption and Good Governance

According to the official resolution, the FMF, as the party responsible for processing the fan database, committed two infractions during the registration and operation of the platform.

Why Was the FMF Sanctioned?

The first infraction consisted of failing to adequately inform users that the facial photographs collected to generate the FAN ID constitute sensitive personal data.

According to the authority, this omission in the privacy notice prevented the data subjects from fully understanding the scope of the processing of their information and from being able to make an informed decision about the use of their biometric data.

The Authority Questions the Consent Obtained

The second irregularity noted was the lack of express, written consent for the processing of sensitive personal data, as required by current legislation.

To authorize registration, the FMF used only a checkbox on its website, a mechanism that the Secretariat considered insufficient to meet that legal requirement.

The federal agency reported that the Federation can appeal the resolution through the legal remedies provided by law, although it maintained that it will defend the sanction to guarantee compliance with privacy and personal data protection regulations.

What Is the FAN ID?

The FAN ID is a digital identification system implemented by the FMF to strengthen security and speed up fans’ access to football stadiums in Mexico.

According to the Federation itself, it consists of a unique code associated with each fan, generated only once and valid for entering different sports venues where this identification mechanism is used.

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