The next major international sporting event, the 2026 FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, is already garnering international scrutiny. There have been numerous calls to boycott it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Calls for a boycott were amplified recently following U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s threats to annex Greenland from Denmark, prompting soccer officials in Germany and France to broach the possibility of both countries boycotting the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both countries\u2019 soccer federations have pushed back against calls to boycott the World Cup for now, although recent events in Minneapolis have heightened concerns about the U.S.\u2019 role in hosting the tournament and what that will mean for visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter \u2014 who was suspended by FIFA in 2015 and replaced by current FIFA president Gianni Infantino amid a corruption scandal he was later acquitted of \u2014 recently voiced concerns over the marginalization of political opponents and violent crackdowns on immigration in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Cup has historically been an event that brings together fans from across the world. Many fans rely on tourist visas, and ICE is expected to be responsible for security at the World Cup. ICE\u2019s director has refused to commit to pausing the agency\u2019s operations during the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human rights groups have raised concerns over whether World Cup visitors will be detained and handed to ICE if they engage in actions deemed critical of the U.S. government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the history of international sporting events, boycotts have been far less common than bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were not invited to attend the 1920 Olympic games after losing the First World War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa was invited to the 1964 Tokyo Games but saw their invitation rescinded due to apartheid, and only rejoined Olympic competition in 1992. Rhodesia saw its invitation to the 1972 Games rescinded due to its government enacting a white supremacist regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notably, both instances of rescinded invitations to the Olympic Games came after other African nations threatened to boycott the Games if South Africa and Rhodesia were invited to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were also partial boycotts at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Several nations announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics to protest China\u2019s mistreatment of the Uyghur Muslims, prohibiting many government officials from attending in an official capacity, while still permitting athletes to compete. Russia has been banned from most major international sports competitions since it invaded Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the most famous boycott of an international sporting event occurred in 1980 ahead of the Summer Olympics in Moscow following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. More than 60 countries boycotted those Games, led by the U.S. In turn, 19 countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, led by the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet there has never been a World Cup boycott by qualified teams on political grounds. In 1934, Uruguay famously chose not to travel to the second-ever World Cup in Italy because several European teams, including Italy, declined to travel to Uruguay for the inaugural tournament in 1930.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prior to the 1966 World Cup, all African teams withdrew from qualifying in protest because FIFA had only allocated all of the teams from Africa, Asia and Oceania one combined place at the tournament. There were calls for Norway to boycott the 2022 Men\u2019s World Cup in Qatar, but they did not qualify for the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of yet, no leaders of major soccer federations have endorsed calls for their country to boycott the tournament, despite pressure from some executives and politicians. It would likely take decisive action from a federation head, akin to the action President Jimmy Carter took prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, to arrive at a country boycotting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, given the relationship Trump has built up with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the effect of a boycott, or any credible threats of one, on the United States\u2019 immigration policy or hosting responsibilities would likely be rather limited, making a boycott an unpopular decision that may not achieve the desired goal of any boycotting nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Infantino attended Trump\u2019s inauguration and controversially awarded Trump FIFA\u2019s inaugural Peace Prize. More recently, he signed an agreement with Trumps\u2019 Board of Peace on behalf of FIFA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n