Spain Threaten 2026 World Cup Boycott as FIFA Sent Warning
Spanish government officials have suggested they could pull their national team out of the 2026 World Cup.
World football's biggest tournament will take place once again next summer in Canada, Mexico and the United States, the first time the competition has been hosted by three different nations.
European champions Spain are the bookmakers' early favourites to win and are on course to book their place at the tournament, having taken two wins from two at the start of qualifying.
But there are now suggestions Luis de la Fuente's side could withdraw from the World Cup in protest if Israel also qualify for the tournament.
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Israel are currently third in their qualifying group but have a real chance of securing at least a play-off spot. They are currently six points behind group leaders Norway but level on points with second place Italy, with three games remaining.
Only the group winner qualifies for the World Cup automatically, with second place potentially securing a play-off spot depending on results in other groups.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for Israel to be excluded from international sports competitions over its actions in Gaza.
Earlier this week, Sanchez said Israel should be treated in the same way as Russia, which was banned from international competition by FIFA and UEFA following its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.
"Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to whitewash its image," Sanchez told representatives of his Socialist Workers' Party.
A United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry said on Tuesday that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that four of the five genocidal acts, as defined under international law, have been carried out by Israel in Gaza.
The ongoing conflict was triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people and saw 251 people taken hostage.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,964 Palestinians, according to figures released by the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry - whose figures are viewed as reliable by the UN.
Israel's foreign ministry has categorically rejected the UN report as "distorted and false", while its Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Sanchez "a disgrace" over his comments.
Could Spain boycott the 2026 World Cup?
A spokesperson for the Socialist Group in Spanish Congress, Patxi Lopez, has suggested the Spanish government could vote to boycott the next World Cup if Israel qualify and are allowed to compete.
It comes after Spanish broadcaster RTVE threatened to boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest if Israel competes, following similar announcements in the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland.
Echoing Sanchez's comments, Lopez called on sports associations to "exclude" Israel from competitions, as was done with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
When asked if Spain would withdraw if Israel were allowed to compete at the World Cup, Lopez said (via COPE) "we'll consider it later" and that a request could be made "at the appropriate time" if no action is taken against Israel.
Spanish government spokesperson and Minister of Sports, Pilar Alegria, has also called for Israel to be excluded from international competitions in light of the worsening situation in Gaza.
"Sport is not, and cannot be, an island independent of what happens in the real world, especially when that real world tells us that human rights are being destroyed," she said.
FIFA and UEFA are yet to publicly respond to Sanchez, Lopez and Alegria's comments.
Topics: Spain, Football, FIFA World Cup, FIFA
Rory O'Callaghan