Tele Rebelde announced on its Facebook page this Tuesday the live broadcast of the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026: France vs. Spain at 3:00 PM this Tuesday, and England vs. Argentina on Wednesday at the same time. The response from Cubans was prompt, but it wasn’t about football; it was about power outages.
Hundreds of comments turned the announcement from the state channel into a gauge of public discontent regarding the electrical crisis that is paralyzing the island. The question "With what current?" was echoed almost unanimously, with variations ranging from indignation to dark humor.
"I hope the SEN can reach an agreement with FIFA so we can enjoy it," wrote a user, capturing the general sentiment perfectly. Another was more sarcastic: "FIFA is going to donate two thermoelectric plants and an oil tanker so our SEN will let us watch the matches."
References to the National Electric System (SEN) were constant. "Without SENse or SENtiments, the SEN condemns us to sit in vain on SENeral occasions," wrote another commentator. Yet another stated succinctly: "The blackout is the champion."
Several Cubans reported that they have not been able to watch even a single complete match throughout the tournament. “I’ve been experiencing prolonged blackouts of over 20 hours for so long that I thought the World Cup had already ended,” wrote one. Another summed up the daily paradox: “We haven’t seen any matches; it seems that electricity is inversely proportional to football.”
The double trap—blackout and lack of signal—was also documented in the comments. A user from Santa Cruz del Norte in Mayabeque explained that there is power in his area but no television signal. From Colón in Matanzas, another user reported that they have been without signal for months. From Holguín, it was noted that the Ramón transmitter in Antillas has been out of service for some time.
"And Tele Rebelde, who are they broadcasting to? Because 90% or more of the population is without electricity," asked a commentator, specifically mentioning Pinar del Río and the municipality of Minas de Matahambre as areas where not a single game of the World Cup or the Baseball Classic has been able to be watched.
The energy context underlying these complaints is devastating. Cuba experienced its fourth total blackout of the year on July 10, when a failure in the 220 kV line between Santa Clara and Sancti Spíritus left nearly 10 million people without electricity. The record deficit recorded on July 8 reached 2,341 MW, with 11 of the 16 thermoelectric plants in the country out of service and 106 distributed generation plants without fuel as of July 13.
Among the sports predictions, Argentina was the team most frequently mentioned as the favorite to win the title, followed by Spain and France. The semifinal match between Argentina and England brought up historical references: several users recalled the Falklands War and the 1986 Mexico match, featuring Maradona's "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century." Some requested a change in the commentators from Tele Rebelde; others directly suggested using the original commentary in any language.
There were those who chose practical resignation: "I already have the radio turned up to full to listen to the match on Rebelde. If not for enjoyment." And there were those who pointed out the internal inequality: "Only for those who have solar panels."
" My favorites are Apagonia and without Señalonia," wrote another user, in one of the phrases that best encapsulated the experience of millions of Cubans facing the most invisible World Cup in their recent history.
Related videos:
Filed under: