International soccer figures and lawmakers are calling for a boycott of this summer’s World Cup as the United States prepares to co-host the tournament amid mounting concerns over the Trump Administration’s domestic and foreign policies.
The World Cup is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19, with matches across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The final is set for MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Mark Pieth, a Swiss attorney who led FIFA reform oversight from 2011 to 2013, urged fans to “stay away from the U.S.A.” in a recent interview with Swiss newspaper Der Bund. His comments were amplified by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who posted on X: “I think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.”
Critics have pointed to the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement, which has resulted in two American deaths by federal agents in Minneapolis, along with expansionist foreign policy toward Greenland and Venezuela, travel bans, and sweeping tariffs.
“What we are seeing domestically—the marginalization of political opponents, abuses by immigration services—doesn’t exactly encourage fans to go there,” Pieth said, warning that visitors who displease officials could face immediate deportation.
German soccer federation vice president Oke Göttlich told Hamburger Morgenpost last week it was time to “seriously consider and discuss” a boycott, drawing comparisons to Olympic boycotts during the Cold War.
German lawmakers Jürgen Hardt and Roderich Kiesewetter suggested their national team might skip the tournament “as a last resort” in response to Trump’s actions on Greenland. The German government said January 20 the decision would rest with the soccer federation. In the U.K., Conservative MP Simon Hoare urged England, Scotland, and Wales to consider boycotting to “embarrass” Trump. French MP Eric Coquerel called for relocating the tournament to only Canada and Mexico.
A recent Bild poll found 47% of roughly 1,000 German respondents would support a boycott if Trump moved to annex Greenland. In the Netherlands, over 150,000 people signed a petition urging their national team to boycott in protest of “aggressive U.S. military intervention.” Travel restrictions on countries including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran, and Haiti—all with qualifying teams—have left many fans unable to attend regardless.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has faced criticism for his relationship with Trump. In December, Infantino presented Trump with a newly created FIFA Peace Prize after the president missed out on the Nobel. FIFA also opened an office in Trump Tower last July, and a replica World Cup trophy has been displayed in Trump’s Oval Office since 2018.
Boycott Unlikely Despite Outcry
Despite the rhetoric, actual boycotts remain improbable. All 32 teams participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup despite widespread criticism of human rights abuses and labor conditions described as “modern slavery.”
French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said there is currently “no desire for a boycott of this great competition,” though she declined to rule out future changes. “I am one who believes in keeping sport separate,” she told reporters last week.
