Ecuadorian Football Federation says it has filed a formal complaint with organisers after the incident in Mexico City.Published On 30 Jun 202630 Jun 2026Mexico football fans did their best to give Ecuador a sleepless night ahead of the teams’ round-of-32 World Cup match in Mexico City.From midnight until the early hours of the morning, dozens of fans gathered outside the Westin Hotel in Santa Fe, an upscale area on the outskirts of the Mexican capital, using loudspeakers, horns, and motorcycles to disturb the visiting team’s sleep.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listTeam hotel serenades are a deeply entrenched, highly polarising tradition in Latin American football. While they began as a passionate way for fans to rally behind the home team, they have increasingly evolved into a psychological weapon to rob visiting players of a good night’s sleep.The Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) said on Tuesday that it filed a formal complaint with organisers after the incident in Mexico City.“Such conduct stands in stark contrast to the principles of fair play, equity, and unity that a World Cup should embody,” the federation said in a statement.“The FEF respectfully calls upon the competent authorities to pay greater attention to these events and to adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the safety of our players, coaching staff, and fans.”The fan ambush, organised on social media, capped off a gruelling logistical nightmare for the Ecuadorian team, who had deliberately planned a last-minute Monday night arrival to mitigate the effects of Mexico City’s 2,200-metre (7,300ft) altitude.To combat the physiological toll of thin air, sport scientists generally recommend two contrasting approaches: an extended acclimatisation period of at least two weeks, or the “fly-in, fly-out” method – arriving as close to kickoff as possible before acute symptoms set in. Advertisement The “fly-in, fly-out” method is used by teams from major US sport leagues when they come …
