International Calls to Boycott 2026 World Cup in USA
Netherlands:
In January a petition (“Boycott the Trump World Cup”) was launched by a Dutch TV personality, Tuen van de Kellen, and gained some 170,000 signatures by March. On March 24, the petition was submitted to the Dutch Lower Parliament (Tweedekamer) and received by five Parliamentarians (Mohammed Mohandis of the GreenLinks Party; Sarah Dobbe of the Socialist Party; Christine Teunissen of the Party for the Animals; Eveline Tijmstra of the Christian Democratic Appeal; and Hilde Wendel of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy). Their email addresses:
Tuen van de Kellen: puck@talentkitchen.nl
christine.Teunissen@tweedekamer.nl
Germany:
In a January interview, Oke Göttlich, President of the Football Club St. Pauli and Vice-President of the German Football Federation called for a “serious discussion” about boycotting the games in the USA.
A petition and campaign (“Love Football/Hate Fascism”) to boycott the games in the USA continues to be circulated, with modest success, by Fairness United.
In January, Jürgen Hardt, a member of the German Parliament (Bundestag) from the Christian Democratic Union suggested a boycott of the games in the USA because of its threats to annex Greenland.
Spain:
After Trump openly disparaged Spain for its opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Spanish government announced on March 3 that its team’s (Royal Spanish Football League) withdrawal from WC participation is under consideration.
Sweden:
On March 24, the President of the Swedish Football Association, scathingly criticized FIFA President Infantino for his close working relationship with Trump and voiced concern about Sweden’s participation in the WC (although it has not yet qualified).
Africa:
On February 12, an influential article (“Africa Must Boycott 2026 World Cup”) was published in al-Jazeera.
Iran:
Refuses to play in USA, and New Zealand agrees to play Iran outside USA:
France:
In January, Michel Platini, a former French football star and former President of the UEFA, also expressed strong criticism of Infantino and the awarding of a FIFA Peace Cup to Trump.
Switzerland:
Sepp Blatter, a Swiss national and former FIFA President called for a boycott of the 2026 WC games in the USA.
Other campaigns:
We Move Europe (https://wemove.eu/en) has an online boycott petition: info@wemove.eu
https://action.wemove.eu/sign/2026-1-eu-to-boycott-2026-fifa-world-cup-EN
In Change.org, there are several petitions calling for a boycott; the top four are:
“Boycott the FIFA World Cup and Summer Olympics in the USA”(1,357 signatures)
“Boycott the FIFA World Cup-Human Rights Before Football” (1,200 signatures)
“Boycott the FIFA World Cup 2026 and LA28 Olympics Over US Threats to Allied Nations (1,198 signatures)
“Boycott of 2026 World Cup (486 signatures)
and 39 more petitions, most with less than 10 signatures.
