European Calls to Boycott 2026 World Cup Grow Over Trump and Greenland

Overview

• Petitions led by Dutch journalist Teun van de Keuken have passed 150,000 signatures, pressing European teams to skip the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
• UEFA and national federations have discussed the issue, with reports of a Jan. 19 leadership meeting and a separate Budapest gathering of representatives from 20 teams, per the Guardian.
• Dutch FA president Frank Paauw acknowledged Trump’s threats but ruled out a commitment to withdraw for now, and Germany’s vice president Oke Göttlich floated a boycott that the DFB did not adopt.
• Denmark’s Social Democrat Mogens Jensen said a boycott would become highly relevant if the US invaded Greenland, underscoring that political escalation would drive any decision.
• Trump’s Davos remarks about overwhelming force and threatened 10% tariffs on eight European countries triggered concern, though reports note he has since pulled back on annexation talk, with a Feb. 1 NATO-related marker tied to tariffs still looming.