Will there be boycotts?

A North American World Cup should have been, in part, a celebration of the sport’s growth since the 1994 edition of the world showcase spurred the creation of Major League Soccer. 

An astonishing 94,194 fans packed the Rose Bowl to watch Brazil win their 4th World Cup, and since then, soccer has grown into America’s 3rd most popular sport according to The Economist, and MLS has grown into the 6th most-watched soccer league in the world – a feat that would seem impossible 30 years ago. 

However, as the pinnacle of the sport makes its return to North America, the circus around the competition has taken hold of the narrative thanks to Donald Trump’s illegal policies, both domestically and internationally. 

Past iterations of the Men’s World Cup have drawn their fair share of criticisms and calls for boycotts. Making those calls from America was easy. Russia was actively jailing dissenters of the Putin regime and committing countless atrocities against its own citizens. The rights of  LGBTQ citizens and other vulnerable citizens also became a rallying cry against Qatar’s Royal Family ahead of the 2022 edition of the competition. The lasting image of that World Cup became Lionel Messi’s celebration as the Emir of Qatar draped a ceremonial bisht over his shoulders, and not, as the Guardian reported, the 6500 migrant workers who died constructing the country's World Cup venues. 

The US has never had a perfect humanitarian record, but under past Presidents, there was at least some separation between the country’s sporting ecosystem and any of its humanitarian horrors. Bad actors were held accountable, and – even if it was just talk – there was always an idea of progress and equality for all. The land of opportunity. 

Well, that idea has been completely eroded since Trump’s first presidency. 

There is no accountability. 

The president has ramped up ICE operations throughout the country, often affecting both American citizens and immigrants in the country on protected status. ICE has terrorized America’s immigrant communities, looking for excuses to arrest people based on the color of their skin, and even deporting asylum seekers based on tattoos celebrating their favorite soccer clubs. These targeted actions of immigrant communities have resulted in the deaths of American citizens as recently as Wednesday morning in Minneapolis. 

The regime has made it a personal vendetta to attack vulnerable communities, going after trans women in sports under the guise of protecting women (despite completely ignoring issues that actually affect women in sports), attacking healthcare and childcare initiatives across the country, and targeting officials who have attempted to hold the president accountable… among countless other aggressions.

Those abuses domestically have occurred as one of the country’s greatest scandals burned in the background, a complete mishandling of the Epstein files in an attempt to wash Trump’s relationship with the convicted trafficker. 

It’s that backdrop that paints Trump’s foreign policy bully pulpit. 

America has alienated its allies, bungled peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, and put itself front and center in negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza that was quickly ignored by Israeli forces – all while Trump’s domestic initiatives crash and burn.

Trump’s policies have repeatedly come under fire. 

The regime will claim that, as the executive office, they can act unilaterally, taking advantage of a SCOTUS that moves slowly in condemning actions such as the National Guard occupation of American cities, and a legislative arm that is incapable of fighting the unprecedented executive overreach. 

Trump has claimed that Canada will become the 51st state, has claimed that continued cartel violence in Mexico will require US military intervention, has openly coveted Greenland, and continually operated illegally in international waters to strike civilian fishing vessels off the coast of Venezuela, claiming that the boats were smuggling drugs into America despite the size of the fishing vessels making that impossible. Those pretenses led to a coordinated mission into Venezuela that ended in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and resulted in 57 casualties. 

The President and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller claim that they have the legal authority to embark on “law enforcement” missions into foreign lands, laying the groundwork for future tests of NATO’s charter as Miller takes to CNN to claim that the US has more of a right to Greenland than Denmark.

In a different world, Trump’s continued posturing would result in more than a rebuke from its NATO allies. 

The US would be sanctioned, and countries would unanimously boycott its upcoming international sporting competitions… but we do not live in a rational world. 

A three-country joint World Cup where the larger power is actively antagonizing its neighbors should not proceed. Still, the international governing bodies have yet to demonstrate that they can do more than send strongly worded letters. 

That was evidenced by the complete sham of a World Cup draw that centered around awarding Trump the newly established FIFA Peace Prize.  

FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s close relationship with the president has been well established. Infantino gifted the President replicas of both Club World Cup and World Cup trophies, and has been subject to a FIFA ethics complaint regarding both his relationship with Trump and his stonewalling of FIFA members in anticipation of awarding Trump the inaugural Peace Prize.

FIFA and Infantino have been strikingly silent following America’s official operation into Venezuela this past weekend. FIFA remained silent, even as the president stated, “something has to be done about Mexico,” concerning the nation's cartel violence. 

Make no mistake, ridicule of the Trump administration's authoritarian stances is not an endorsement of the Maduro regime or Cartel activity. However, it is a sign of what is to come if the aggression remains unchecked. 

As FIFA charges an arm and a leg for World Cup tickets, fans from Haiti, Iran, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire will be unable to acquire travel Visas, ICE enforcement will be ramped up in hosting cities, and America’s closest allies will be working on contingency defense plans if America continues to act undeterred. 

That’s barely scratching the surface. 

There are even more factors inhibiting the excitement around the World Cup, but when the ball is kicked, will anyone remember? 

Qatar was an incredible tournament, and in the aftermath, the talk of the country’s human rights violations took a backseat to Lionel Messi’s crowning achievement. 

In the aftermath, Qatar’s involvement in global football has become legitimized in the same way that Saudi Arabia’s investments into FIFA and global sport have seen the stance against their humanitarian record soften. 

Donald Trump understands the role that sport plays in legitimizing poor behavior. It’s why he takes every opportunity to put himself front and center, including a bizarre moment during Chelsea’s Club World Cup trophy lift that will live in infamy. 

As of now, no country has officially announced a boycott of the 2026 World Cup.

However, the situation is rapidly evolving following the capture of Maduro. The US has forced a meeting with Denmark regarding its assertions towards Greenland, and while Denmark’s route to qualification is still uncertain – they take part in Path D of the FIFA play-in this March – the Greenland conversation will dominate the run-up to those fixtures. 

Denmark and its NATO allies – allies that should include the USA – will have to have some tough conversations. Is it possible to compete in an international competition if it only lends legitimacy to an authoritarian government attempting to upend international sovereignty? 

The World Cup will be here before we know it, and any attempt to cover the competition without the implicit knowledge that it can not exist outside of this intense geo-political moment can not be taken seriously. Covering soccer this summer can not exist without acknowledging the demonstrations happening all around it.

Sports are inherently political, and in a world where Christian Pulisic celebrated a goal against Jamaica with the Trump Dance, ignoring the cover that sports have always offered authoritarian governments is irresponsible. 

We can not ignore the moment.

On a personal note: 

I will be back this week with an NWSL, MLS, and USWNT newsletter. Thank you all so much for your patience over the past month. The Horneker family has grown over the offseason. We welcomed baby Arlo into the world last week, but the stress of a weeklong NICU stay obviously ate into my writing schedule.

We received some great news this week, and despite initially thinking that he would need surgery, it is looking likely that he won’t need any further medical supervision outside of regular checkups. Claire and I have been floating since receiving the news, sleep-deprived, but very, very relieved. My stress rash has basically vanished, and Lily has been enamored with her baby brother ever since we came home. It’s been a dream. 

Hope you all had a great holiday. Happy Soccer.