WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 06: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup in the East Room of the White House on May 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump gathered the task force for the first time to hear from his Cabinet members in the ways their departments are preparing for the summer games. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Over the next 137 days, we could see a familiar and old refrain and game in international sports being played out: To boycott or not to boycott a major international sporting event.
There seemingly have been countless stories recently about soccer and governmental officials on whether respective nations and/or team could boycott the 2026 World Cup, in the wake of the controversial expansionist policies of the Trump Administration.
Unless you have been hiding under a giant soccer ball or rock, tariffs, the invasion of Venezuela and plucking out its president, Nicolás Maduro, and President Donald Trump’s desire to annex Greenland from Denmark, which rocked the country’s long-standing relationship with NATO, have made major headlines on a daily basis. And that doesn’t include the controversial Epstein files, which wasn’t an international matter, until former Prince Andrew of England wound up in the scandal.
Will countries or teams boycott the World Cup?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Some politicians and soccer officials, however, are beating the boycott drums:
31 March 2023, Berlin: Jürgen Hardt (CDU/CSU) speaks at the debate marking 75 years of the European Recovery Plan. Photo: Carsten Koall/dpa (Photo by Carsten Koall/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Taking a Hardt line on a boycott
On Jan. 16, politician Jurgen Hardt (Christian Democratic Union) told the BILD newspaper, suggesting that Germany could withdraw from the competition in response to Trump’s Greenland threats. “Dropping out of the tournament would, however, only be considered as a last resort in order to get Trump to see sense on the Greenland issue.”
Conservative MP Simon Hoare, who is chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, outside Parliament Buildings, Stormont in Belfast. Picture date: Wednesday January 18, 2023. (Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images)
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Rival MPs agree in United Kingdom
Metro, an English newspaper, reported on Jan. 19 that one Conservative and one Labor member of the United Kingdom’s parliament called for a boycott.
Simon Hoare, a Conservative MP, said that Great Britain’s government needed to “push every button and pull every lever” to show its objection to President Trump’s threats towards Greenland.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 20: Kate Osborne MP on stage presenting during The British Diversity Awards 2024 at Grosvenor House on March 20, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)
Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
Kate Osborne, a Labor MP, pushed for a boycott because Trump was “threatening Greenland and attacking our own government.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 11: Piers Morgan seen returning to his West London home after doing the school run on March 11, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Neil Mockford/GC Images)
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Well-known TV commentator Piers Morgan has also chimed in. “Maybe England, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway and Italy should all pause participation in the World Cup,” he was quoted by The Mirror.
“Eight of the 10 favored teams to win withdrawing might concentrate some minds.”
HAMBURG, GERMANY – APRIL 21: Oke Göttlich, president of FC St.Pauli looks on prior to the Second Bundesliga match between Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli at Volksparkstadion on April 21, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
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German VP wants to discuss the possibility of a boycott
On Jan. 23, Oke Göttlich, one of 10 vice presidents of the German Football Federation executive committee and president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli, said that soccer officials should consider a boycott due to President Trump’s actions, according to an interview with the Hamburger Morgenpost. He told the newspaper that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss this.”
“What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?” Göttlich said, according to the Associated Press. “By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
Added Göttlich: “Qatar was too political for everyone and now we’re completely apolitical? That’s something that really, really, really bothers me.”
Göttlich was referring to his federation’s opposition to the 2022 World Cup host.
On the other hand, France and the Netherlands have stated that they have no intention of boycotting the tournament, according to the English newspaper, The Mirror.
Marina Ferrari, Secretary of State in charge of Digital Affairs gives a speech during an event to highlight the importance of the protection of the mental health of athletes, Minister of Sports in Paris, France on 18th April, 2024. (Photo by Daniel Dorko / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by DANIEL DORKO/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
The French: Play on!
France’s sports minister Marina Ferrari said on Jan. 22 that there was no current plan to boycott the competition.
“As it stands now, there is no desire from the ministry for a boycott of this great competition,” Ferrari said. “Now, I will not anticipate what could happen, but I have also heard voices raised from certain political blocs.
“I am one who believes in keeping sport separate [from politics]. The World Cup is an extremely important moment for those who love sport.”
operational director Gijs de Jong of KNVB during the friendly match between Scotland and The Netherlands on November 09, 2017 at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)
VI-Images via Getty Images
The Dutch: Play on!
KNVB secretary general Gijs de Jong said the Dutch national team planned to participate in the World Cup.
This is what Netherlands secretary general de Jong shared on the KNVB’s official website:
How does the KNVB deal with social or political developments in a host country?
“We live in a rapidly changing world. That is why we are closely monitoring international developments, in consultation with FIFA, UEFA, Foreign Affairs and local embassies. We are alert and flexible, just like we were in the past at tournaments. As a football association, our first priority is that players and staff can fully focus on football and their World Cup mission.
“As a football association, we focus on the World Cup and on our values: dialogue, connection and renewal, even when circumstances differ from those in the Netherlands. It is up to the Dutch government to determine its position on international political developments. By continuing to play football and keep talking, we link our progressive attitude to our values, in the belief that football can connect. Worldwide, everyone knows what Orange stands for.”
When does the KNVB decide not to participate in matches or tournaments?
“We always follow the guidelines of the Dutch government and of FIFA and UEFA. When they indicate that traveling to or playing in a certain region is not allowed, we will not go. Within those frameworks, we hold on to what is central to us: football, dialogue and connection. We are socially aware.”
There is probably a 99.999999 percent chance that boycott stories are not going to go away any time soon.
Who knows what other crises or unforeseen developments will arise over the next 137 days? That’s when the World Cup will kick off in Mexico City, when Mexico meet South Africa. The U.S. Men’s National Team faces Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif. at SoFi Stadium on June 12.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 06: Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 official match schedule announcement on December 06, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Life is unpredictable, and more unpredictable during the Trump regime.
No major soccer power has boycotted the World Cup in the modern era. But as we have learned, there is always the first time, even with so much prestige and millions at stake for competing nations.
Interestingly, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has been a frequent visitor to the White House over the past 13 months, has been silent on this particular subject. It will be interesting to see if and when Infantino will make a statement.
The only advice this writer has is to stay tuned to the news – not just in soccer, but on the international front, as well. There could be more headlines of a boycott, pro or con, coming our way in the near future.
Michael Lewis, the sixth recipient of the United Soccer Coaches’ Clay Berling Media Career of Excellence Award, can be followed on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky at @soccerwriter.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaellewis/2026/01/26/the-new-political-football-to-boycott-the-world-cup-or-not/
