Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Tuesday that school classes in Mexico City will be suspended during the nation’s World Cup opener on June 11 in order to ease traffic.Mexico is co-hosting the World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico, and will play the first game of the tournament on Thursday against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in the country’s capital city.Speaking at a press conference, Sheinbaum issued a decree that ordered federal workers in the city to work from home on the day of the game and confirmed that classes for all age groups would be suspended.In slides showed on screen during the press conference, the government said that the decree was aimed “at improving conditions for mobility, road safety and accessibility, both for Mexico City inhabitants and visiting tourists, on the occasion of the inauguration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup”.“For employees of the Federal Public Administration, government departments must prioritise the use of information and communication technologies that ensure the proper performance of core and administrative functions,” it continued.“The private and social sectors in Mexico City are urged to implement remote working arrangements for all non-essential administrative activities.”Luisa Maria Alcalde Lujan, legal counsel of the federal executive, told the briefing that remote work would be essential.“All the essential activities will carry on but everything which is office work, in the public sector, do it remotely,” she said. “The same thing for the private and social sector for Mexico City. For all non-essential administrative tasks, schemes for remote working should be implemented.”This is the latest move that the Mexican government has made regarding school classes during the World Cup.On May 7, the nation’s ministry of public education (SEP) announced that, along with state education authorities, it had “unanimously” agreed to move the end of the school year from July 15 to June 5 due to an “extraordinary heat wave” in the summer months and Mexico’s co-hosting of the World Cup.The announcement prompted criticism, with Sheinbaum saying that the decision was not yet final, and SEP confirmed five days later that it would “maintain the 2025–2026 school calendar and to conclude the academic year on July 15, as planned”.After playing South Africa, Mexico take on South Korea a week later at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Their group stage will conclude at the Azteca against the Czech Republic on June 18.Jun 9, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms