Calls to boycott the World Cup

People are finally beginning to call for other countries to boycott Donald Trump’s upcoming World Cup—and not just usual suspects like me and The Nation’s Dave Zirin. Oke Göttlich, a powerful German soccer administrator, said that, in the wake of the execution of Alex Pretti in Minnesota, the time has come to talk seriously about boycotting the tournament. Sepp Blatter, the former head of FIFA (the international governing committee of global soccer) suggested that fans shouldn’t travel to the tournament because of rising safety concerns in the United States.

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The tournament has expanded to 48 teams this year, up from 32 in previous years, which means that more people than ever will be involved in the proceedings—and possible protests. [...] [T]hose 48 countries wouldn’t actually have to boycott the entire World Cup, because this year’s tournament is also being hosted by two other countries—Canada and Mexico. Teams could refuse to play in the US while happily playing in Canada or Mexico.

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This is going to sound weird to non–sports fans, but boycotting the World Cup is one of the most significant sanctions members of the international community can take against the United States right now. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. The US has been begging to host a tournament for decades. This World Cup, which runs from early June through mid-July, is a perfect opportunity for the world to stand against this country’s fascist regime.

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It would be a powerful statement.

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That statement won’t come from FIFA, however. FIFA is one of the most corrupt organizations in the entire world, and its current president, Gianni Infantino, was last seen licking Trump’s boots and handing him a “peace prize.” Nor is it likely to come from the powerful soccer-playing countries in Western Europe. If France, Germany, and Great Britain were to pull out of the US portions of the tournament, many other countries would follow—but, sadly, the leaders of those nations appear eager to play Neville Chamberlain to Trump’s Hitler.

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Some of the teams involved are also run by repressive authoritarians. Others are financially dependent on FIFA and the World Cup to fund their soccer federations, while still others have entire economies beholden to the United States. On the other hand, a lot of those countries damn well know that if they did what the US is doing, they’d be boycotted and sanctioned and probably invaded by white people promising to restore “freedom” in exchange for all their oil and minerals.

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We know that the defending World Cup champion, Argentina, with its fascist-curious Trump-puppet president will show up (as will Ecuador, whose president is also friendly with our reigning despot), but some of the other nations that made the field—Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay—could be a different story. Their fans arguably face a real risk if they attend the matches. Could an American fan of, say, Colombia even go to a game without fear of being detained and deported by ICE?

  Elie Mystal

Absolutely not. In fact, ICE is going to have a presence at the Super Bowl next month. I expect that will cut down on ticket sales.