A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
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Current Issue
January 27, 2026
A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
As marauding state agents fill US streets, a leading German soccer official says countries should consider what was once unthinkable: skipping the 2026 World Cup.
Dave Zirin
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Oke Göttlich, the president of FC St. Pauli, looks on before the Bundesliga match between FC St. Pauli 1910 and FC Bayern München at Millerntor Stadium on November 9, 2024, in Hamburg, Germany.
(Sebastian El-Saqqa / firo sportphoto via Getty Images)
This week, a leading German soccer official, Oke Göttlich, said that the time has come to consider the unthinkable: a boycott of the World Cup to protest Donald J. Trump’s United States. The most watched sporting event on earth is due to be played this year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and Göttlich said in a Friday interview, before a federal agent murdered Minneapolis VA nurse Alex Pretti, that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss this.” Göttlich was responding not only to state agents marauding US streets but also to Trump’s military threats against Greenland and the people of Europe, which have shattered old alliances. However specious these alliances may have been, the alternative that Trump is advancing is a new world order of unchecked US aggression, where the ghoulish Stephen Miller feels free to call for occupation and bloodshed.
Göttlich is no lightweight. He is one of the German federation’s 10 vice presidents and the president of the Bundesliga club St. Pauli. Folks may know St. Pauli as a proudly left-wing, openly anti-fascist team whose fans generally align with what Göttlich is putting forward, although calling for a boycott goes beyond what any European soccer power broker has done. It moves the “Overton window” as to where this discussion could go. Göttlich was pressed by a reporter about the St. Pauli players on the German national team and whether he felt like he was undercutting their personal and national ambitions. Göttlich replied, “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host. What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s? By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
It is actually past time to have this discussion. Ten long months ago, I wrote a piece with Jules Boykoff titled, “With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?” It was a call for countries outside of the United States to …
Am I the only one tired of this?
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A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
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Current Issue
January 27, 2026
A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
As marauding state agents fill US streets, a leading German soccer official says countries should consider what was once unthinkable: skipping the 2026 World Cup.
Dave Zirin
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Oke Göttlich, the president of FC St. Pauli, looks on before the Bundesliga match between FC St. Pauli 1910 and FC Bayern München at Millerntor Stadium on November 9, 2024, in Hamburg, Germany.
(Sebastian El-Saqqa / firo sportphoto via Getty Images)
This week, a leading German soccer official, Oke Göttlich, said that the time has come to consider the unthinkable: a boycott of the World Cup to protest Donald J. Trump’s United States. The most watched sporting event on earth is due to be played this year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and Göttlich said in a Friday interview, before a federal agent murdered Minneapolis VA nurse Alex Pretti, that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss this.” Göttlich was responding not only to state agents marauding US streets but also to Trump’s military threats against Greenland and the people of Europe, which have shattered old alliances. However specious these alliances may have been, the alternative that Trump is advancing is a new world order of unchecked US aggression, where the ghoulish Stephen Miller feels free to call for occupation and bloodshed.
Göttlich is no lightweight. He is one of the German federation’s 10 vice presidents and the president of the Bundesliga club St. Pauli. Folks may know St. Pauli as a proudly left-wing, openly anti-fascist team whose fans generally align with what Göttlich is putting forward, although calling for a boycott goes beyond what any European soccer power broker has done. It moves the “Overton window” as to where this discussion could go. Göttlich was pressed by a reporter about the St. Pauli players on the German national team and whether he felt like he was undercutting their personal and national ambitions. Göttlich replied, “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host. What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s? By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
It is actually past time to have this discussion. Ten long months ago, I wrote a piece with Jules Boykoff titled, “With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?” It was a call for countries outside of the United States to …
A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
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A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
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Current Issue
January 27, 2026
A Call Is Rising for Nations to Boycott the Trump World Cup
As marauding state agents fill US streets, a leading German soccer official says countries should consider what was once unthinkable: skipping the 2026 World Cup.
Dave Zirin
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Oke Göttlich, the president of FC St. Pauli, looks on before the Bundesliga match between FC St. Pauli 1910 and FC Bayern München at Millerntor Stadium on November 9, 2024, in Hamburg, Germany.
(Sebastian El-Saqqa / firo sportphoto via Getty Images)
This week, a leading German soccer official, Oke Göttlich, said that the time has come to consider the unthinkable: a boycott of the World Cup to protest Donald J. Trump’s United States. The most watched sporting event on earth is due to be played this year in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and Göttlich said in a Friday interview, before a federal agent murdered Minneapolis VA nurse Alex Pretti, that “the time has come” to “seriously consider and discuss this.” Göttlich was responding not only to state agents marauding US streets but also to Trump’s military threats against Greenland and the people of Europe, which have shattered old alliances. However specious these alliances may have been, the alternative that Trump is advancing is a new world order of unchecked US aggression, where the ghoulish Stephen Miller feels free to call for occupation and bloodshed.
Göttlich is no lightweight. He is one of the German federation’s 10 vice presidents and the president of the Bundesliga club St. Pauli. Folks may know St. Pauli as a proudly left-wing, openly anti-fascist team whose fans generally align with what Göttlich is putting forward, although calling for a boycott goes beyond what any European soccer power broker has done. It moves the “Overton window” as to where this discussion could go. Göttlich was pressed by a reporter about the St. Pauli players on the German national team and whether he felt like he was undercutting their personal and national ambitions. Göttlich replied, “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host. What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s? By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.”
It is actually past time to have this discussion. Ten long months ago, I wrote a piece with Jules Boykoff titled, “With ICE Out of Control, How Can the US Cohost the 2026 World Cup?” It was a call for countries outside of the United States to …
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