Several nations are at risk of being sanctioned by FIFA if they choose to boycott the 2026 World Cup amid political tensions with Donald Trump and the US government.
The tournament will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada between June 11 and July 19.
And although most fans are looking forward to a festival of football featuring the best sporting talent on the planet, away from the pitch, concerns remain about whether the US is fit to host the World Cup.
Since beginning his second term as US President in January 2025, the Trump and his administration have made several controversial decisions in relation to immigration and foreign policy.
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The US has already taken military action in Venezuela and Nigeria, while also threatening intervention in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Iran.
Trump also expressed his desire for Denmark to hand Greenland – an autonomous territory – over to the US for what he claims are national security reasons.
This caused widespread outrage across Europe, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer describing the proposed move as “utterly wrong” earlier in January.
Trump’s demands have been rejected by Greenland’s leaders, NATO and many European allies.
The US President has since stressed that the US will not “use force” to acquire Greenland, after initially threatening to increase trade tariffs on those rejecting the proposition. Trump has since performed a U-turn on his proposed increase to trade tariffs.
Also, a group of 23 UK MPs from four parties – Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and Plaid Cymru – signed a motion in parliament calling on international sporting bodies to consider expelling the US from major international competitions, including the World Cup.
Could FIFA strip the US of hosting the 2026 World Cup?
As you may have expected, the answer to this question is not straightforward.
According to Jack Anderson, Professor of Sports Law at the University of Melbourne, FIFA do indeed hold the power to make a decision, but it does not necessarily mean the governing body will take action.
Speaking in an exclusive with SPORTbible, Anderson explained: “It is unlikely that FIFA – the organisation that awarded its first global peace prize to Trump – would strip the US of its hosting rights.
“It would likely take an extreme turn of events for that to happen, e.g., hypothetically, if Trump becomes unhappy with the nature of the deal he has apparently struck with NATO over access to Greenland and decides to militarily invade, such that Danish troops come under attack, then, maybe.
“Under the contracts in place, FIFA has broad powers to unilaterally terminate the arrangement with the host country and city, and the above could be justified as an ‘extraordinary’ ground of termination, which, as a result, FIFA could no longer be reasonably expected to continue.
“It would, under the contract, be very difficult for the US to challenge a FIFA termination, but equally, it is very unlikely that FIFA would strip the most powerful economy in the world of its hosting rights, as this would have long-term diplomatic and economic impact for FIFA.”
Anderson also insisted that a decision to strip the US of the hosting rights would be both “unlikely” and “unusual”, but still possible.
FIFA regulations state that the body “has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure – unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone or something from fulfilling a contract.
Could nations boycott the 2026 World Cup, and how would they be punished?
Nations could choose not to compete at the tournament, but this would result in an array of issues and possible FIFA sanctions.
As cited in a 2018 Sky Sports News report ahead of the World Cup in Russia, FIFA’s rules at the time stated that the body could exclude boycotting nations from future competitions, while they may also be subject to liability claims.
However, regulations for the 2026 World Cup state that if a participating member withdraws or is excluded from the tournament, then FIFA may “take whatever action is deemed necessary”. FIFA may also decide to replace the participating member association with another association.
Aside from fans and pundits, there have been few suggestions from official parties that a boycott could, in fact, take place.
France’s sports minister, Marina Ferrari, rejected the idea of a boycott despite calls from some supporters to boycott the tournament.
When speaking to Morgen Post, president of Bundesliga side St. Pauli, Oke Gottlich, suggested that the “time has come” to “consider and discuss” a boycott, but the German soccer federation’s president, Bernd Neuendorf, said this was Gottlich’s opinion, which he described as being “misguided” and not representative of the German federation.
Professor Simon Chadwick, who has previously acted as an advisor to FIFA and Barcelona, told SPORTbible that a mass boycott is unlikely, as European nations have different political gripes with the US than Colombia and Iran, which would likely make a mass boycott “difficult”.
Chadwick, who writes for GeoSport, suggested that gaining support around a common message would be tough, although individual boycotts should not be totally ruled out.
What else do potential boycotters need to consider?
Chadwick explained how deals with commercial partners, sponsors, and broadcasters may also prevent nations from boycotting the tournament, while there are a further “million different hurdles” to overcome before a nation gets close to a boycott.
When asked if, for example, England could choose to take a moral stand and refuse to play, he replied: “I think England will go.”
Chadwick also explained that the respective associations, as well as FIFA, will likely hold a similar view about individual political and domestic incidents being unrelated to sport.
The 61-year-old cited that there will be a “contractual agreement” that exists between “FIFA, the tournament and a national association like the English Football Association (FA)”.
He continued: “So if you unilaterally choose to breach the contract that exists, then potentially there will be sanctions. You will be sanctioned as a result of it.”
As previously mentioned, the exact sanctions remain unclear.
What is FIFA's stance?
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has not addressed recent claims about a potential boycott of the World Cup, but he did say that world football's governing body "cannot solve geopolitical problems" after calls for Israel to be banned from FIFA-sanctioned events back in October.
SPORTbible has contacted FIFA for comment.
Topics: FIFA, Donald Trump, Football
Luke Davies