‘They don’t bring anything’: World Cup boycott talk rebuked by Fifa chief Infantino
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has rubbished talk of nations staging a boycott of the 2026 World Cup over President Trump’s US administration.
The debate has gathered momentum in recent weeks, with Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter endorsing calls, following Trump’s attempts to annex Greenland.
A close ally of Trump, the Fifa chief argued that sport should not be boycotting the US when businesses and foreign ambassadors are not.
“So why football?” he told Sky News. “I think, in our divided world, in our aggressive world, we need occasions where people can meet around the passion [for football].”
He added: “I am against bans, I am against boycotts. I think they don’t bring anything.”
Infantino also said Fifa would look at lifting Russia’s ban from international football, which dates back to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“We have to. Definitely,” he said. “Because this ban has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred.”
Fifa could change its statutes to prevent any nation being banned over the actions of its leaders, Infantino added. “Somebody needs to keep the ties open.”
Infantino sorry for jibe at British football fans
The Swiss also moved to defuse tension with the English Football Association and its counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over comments made in Davos.
Infantino was accused of a cheap shot last month after joking that, in Qatar four years ago “no Brit was arrested during a World Cup. Imagine! This is something really really special.”
He said it was “not my intention” to offend the other home nations and called himself “a huge fan of English football”.
The US is hosting the majority of matches at this summer’s World Cup, the biggest ever following the competition’s expansion to 48 teams. Mexico and Canada are co-hosts but staging far fewer fixtures.
Infantino caused a stir in December when he awarded Fifa’s inaugural peace prize to Trump, weeks after the prestigious Nobel version was given to Venezuelan Maria Corina Machado.