German FA official calls for boycott debate amid Trump tensions

January 26, 2026 Oliver Obel

A senior official within German football has called for a serious discussion about whether Germany should take part in the 2026 World Cup, citing growing political unease surrounding the tournament’s main host, the United States.

Oke Göttlich, a vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), said recent actions by US President Donald Trump had reached a point where sporting consequences should at least be debated. Speaking to the Hamburg-based newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost, Göttlich questioned whether remaining silent was still appropriate.

“I really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this [a boycott] concretely,” he said. “For me, that time has definitely come.”

Politics and football collide

The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the US staging the vast majority of matches, including the final. Trump has taken an unusually visible role in promoting the tournament and last month received FIFA’s Peace Prize during the official World Cup draw.

That recognition has drawn criticism in Europe amid wider political tensions. Trump’s statements regarding Greenland — an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — as well as threats to impose trade tariffs on several European countries, including Germany, have unsettled diplomatic relations.

Those developments have prompted calls in parts of Europe for football authorities to consider a response. In the United Kingdom, some politicians and commentators have urged England and Scotland to examine the possibility of a boycott, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer publicly rejecting Trump’s warnings on trade.

Cautious responses across Europe

Elsewhere, reactions have been more restrained. Dutch officials have acknowledged the debate in a government statement, while the Danish Football Association said it was “aware of the current sensitive situation.” The French government, however, has said it does not currently support the idea of boycotting the tournament.

Göttlich’s comments mark one of the clearest interventions so far from within a major football association. While he does not set policy for the DFB, his remarks signal that the issue is being discussed at senior levels.

He also pointed to historical precedent, recalling the US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. “By my reckoning the potential threat is greater now than it was then,” Göttlich said. “We need to have this discussion.”

Tournament plans continue

For now, preparations for the World Cup are proceeding as scheduled. The United States is set to host 79 of the tournament’s 104 matches, including all quarter-finals and both semi-finals.

Germany are currently slated to begin their group-stage campaign in Houston against Curaçao, before matches in Toronto against Ivory Coast and in the New York–New Jersey area against Ecuador.

Whether those fixtures ultimately take place as planned may depend less on footballing considerations than on how the political debate surrounding the tournament evolves in the coming months.

Sources: Hamburger Morgenpost, FIFA