US President Donald Trump’s push to ‘acquire’ Greenland has dramatically changed the power dynamics of the West, antagonising the European Union and even leading to fears about a potential escalation between the US and NATO. In light of the recent events surrounding Trump and the EU, a German football association official has called for a boycott of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by three North American countries in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking to Hamburger Morgenpost, as relayed by BBC Sport, Oke Gottlich, the vice-president of the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB) or the German Football Association, has floated the idea of the European Union boycotting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this [a boycott] concretely,” he told the newspaper.
As mentioned earlier, the US will be one of the three countries hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, along with Mexico and Canada. However, 78 of the 104 matches in the competition will be played in the US.
Gottlich, who is also the president of German football club FC St. Pauli, argued that the US had implemented a similar boycott in the 1980 Olympic Games following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.
“What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?” he said. “By my reckoning, the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
A potential boycott from EU-linked countries could be catastrophic for the World Cup, as Europe still remains the footballing powerhouse, home to tournament favourites such as France, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
However, it is unlikely that every nation will be on board with the idea of boycotting the World Cup. BBC Sport reports that France is not in favour of boycotting the World Cup, while Denmark, which presides over the autonomy of Greenland, is closely monitoring the situation.
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