A senior German football official has suggested there need to be serious discussions over his country boycotting the 2026 World Cup this summer.
Germany are four-time winners of the competition, but there could be the very real possibility of major nations refusing to play in the tournament in North America because of the recent actions of Donald Trump.
The US president has recently been embroiled in rows over possibly trying to seize control of Greenland, which is part of Denmark, leading to a possible crisis among NATO countries.
Trump has long been a controversial figure and many will feel the US is not currently in a good position to be hosting a major international tournament like this.
Could Germany boycott the 2026 World Cup?
Oke Gottlich, president of Bundesliga side St. Pauli and one of ten vice presidents of the German federation, told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss this” in terms of possibly boycotting the World Cup.
“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.”
It is currently considered unlikely that a boycott would be backed by other major nations, with France already ruling it out for the moment.
Still, it’s a sign of the big tension growing in Europe in particular after Trump’s erratic behaviour.
Donald Trump to present World Cup trophy to winners
In other World Cup news this week, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that Trump would be presenting the trophy to the winner of the tournament.
This is another controversial decision that is likely to be seen as too overtly political for what is supposed to be a neutral sports tournament without broader agendas.
“This trophy will be handed out on the 19th of July to the captain of the team who will win the World Cup,” Infantino said. “I will give it together with the President of the United States, the host country. Nobody can touch this trophy.”
