Anyone boycotting the World Cup?

[timinperu]

Perhaps it is time to follow this https://republica.international/awc 

I took part in the first two events many years ago. Teams from all over the world. It was a fantastic football experience, in the way and international tournament should be.

As we all know football is now a globalised industry and faces the same difficulties of all global industries. 

We all choose to interact with this in our own way, and whatever we chose is right for us as individuals. 

Personally, I was at Qatar and watched many games. It was a brilliant spectacle, and the locals were absolutely lovely to fans. 

My decision to go was due to wanting to experience one world cup and also having access to local prices for tickets. Politically,  I have my own personal thoughts, but as it is a country I have visited many times to see family I perhaps have a different outlook than others.

I will not be travelling to the US, but then the prices are just too much. 

Having watched football in many countries around the world, the state of the regime, is not usually my first thought, it is usually just to watch some footy, and to see somewhere I have not been to beforehand. 

Going heats my respect as a true fan, but then so does boycotting for a reason as I know how hard it can be to miss games.

[cfcmagpies]

12 hours ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

It absolutely is, and it's been roiling in my mind for years. And you're right, it probably means that I should sacrifice my support for Newcastle as well.

 

But I have to start somewhere. And this situation has gotten beyond the pale with the U.S.

 

 

 

If it helps, you should realise it’s impossible to be pure, but it is still okay to make the stands that you can.
 

Personal example: there are plenty of companies out there with dire records; I can’t avoid them all but I do actively avoid Amazon, Newscorp / Fox and Tesla. So it is reasonable (imo) to boycott the World Cup while continuing to support Newcastle. Or- if that’s your preference- the other way around. 

[Menace]

I'm slowly losing interest in football in general. Moving to a country that has a +4 GMT time difference means evening kick offs are at midnight - having a young child and a job to wake up to just doesn't make it viable.

 

Been slowly just getting bored with the amount of football on daily, it feels like there's a match on every day, maybe it's part of growing up - maybe other responsibilities have taken over but I'm nowhere near invested as I used to be.

 

World cups are shite and so are the Euros - I probably won't even bother with it.

[LaurentRobert]

34 minutes ago, Menace said:

I'm slowly losing interest in football in general. Moving to a country that has a +4 GMT time difference means evening kick offs are at midnight - having a young child and a job to wake up to just doesn't make it viable.

 

Been slowly just getting bored with the amount of football on daily, it feels like there's a match on every day, maybe it's part of growing up - maybe other responsibilities have taken over but I'm nowhere near invested as I used to be.

 

World cups are shite and so are the Euros - I probably won't even bother with it.

There is simply too much football being played. The market has been well and truly saturated. With every game becoming less meaningful it's become increasingly difficult not to become slowly apathetic towards modern football

[SteV]

3 minutes ago, LaurentRobert said:

There is simply too much football being played. The market has been well and truly saturated. With every game becoming less meaningful it's become increasingly difficult not to become slowly apathetic towards modern football

Have we reached saturation though? The fact the numbers (attendance, viewership, whatever) just to continue to go up across the board, suggests otherwise.

[Heron]

14 hours ago, Yorkie said:

Sadly my principle of 'consume any and all football I can' outweighs any principles I might have centering around morality. 

 

If there was a supremely organised movement which could legitimately provoke a meaningful and majority boycott, I would happily jump on board. Or vuvuzelas. 

 

Sadly that ship has never been in the dock, let alone sailed. Top level football is far too popular a thing for the type of people who control it not to control it. The game's gone so I'll just stick me head in the sand and enjoy the action, rather than be in - what feels like - a pointless minority taking a stand.

 

Pending the outcome of a butchered and bloated group stage format, the World Cup will almost certainly be mint, because it always is. 

The minority will always be a pointless one unless people take action on what they believe in.

 

Not telling you what to do - but it's a pet hate of mine that sort of reasoning.

 

The only power we have is the power of people. People must come together to force change.

[Heron]

14 hours ago, Yorkie said:

 

I obviously agree wholeheartedly with that principle but it really does feel futile at this scale, without any meaningful movement behind it. I'm not even sure what difference my boycott would even make even at a micro level. 

 

I don't think we need to stray into the matter of hypothetical hypocrisy (re our owners), but there is the point that it's not just the World Cup. Football was sold to these characters ages ago and the shark has already jumped. Why would this be my tipping point?

ignore my previous post.

[Nucasol]

I think the combination of the time difference, my growing disinterest of international games, and the horror show double act of Infantino and Trump means this will be the first WC in my lifetime (44 years) that I consciously switch off from.

Since Italia 90 it’s been the cornerstone of summers every 4 years but I feel like this one has jumped the shark. Also thinking of cancelling the BBC licence fee given the lack of value I get from it, so another reason I won’t be watching.

[Benwell Lad]

No interest at all, but that's pretty much how I feel about international football in general nowadays with the repulsive FIFA corrupting it.

The fact that this one predominantly takes place in what is now a rouge state controlled by a deranged dictator just seals it.

[Conjo]

Since it's the first time they have qualified since 1998 I'll probably watch Norways matches and the final which luckily will be broadcast on our BBC. That's about it. Not a boycott, but won't contribute to Fifa or USA in any way either.

[Vinny Green Balls]

10 hours ago, cfcmagpies said:

If it helps, you should realise it’s impossible to be pure, but it is still okay to make the stands that you can.
 

Personal example: there are plenty of companies out there with dire records; I can’t avoid them all but I do actively avoid Amazon, Newscorp / Fox and Tesla. So it is reasonable (imo) to boycott the World Cup while continuing to support Newcastle. Or- if that’s your preference- the other way around. 

`I'm well aware that it's impossible to be pure. But as you guys know, targeted BDS has worked wonders in the past, both for apartheid South Africa, and in moving factories out of illegal Israeli settlements. Just as you're saying, blanket BDS defeats the purpose, and it'll be hard ot get people sticking with it. That's why I'll be amped if people use pirated streams for the World Cup.

[Vinny Green Balls]

8 hours ago, Heron said:

The minority will always be a pointless one unless people take action on what they believe in.

 

Not telling you what to do - but it's a pet hate of mine that sort of reasoning.

 

The only power we have is the power of people. People must come together to force change.

I'm well aware of that. Collective measures are the only way we can actually see change. I'm not just planning to boycott the World Cup, and then patting myself on the back. That's why I've contacted a few groups to see where they are at. They already have a big platform. So far, I know that JVP has been discussing it internally. My friend is going to propose the alternative streaming approach to them to see if it sticks. I know BDS movement thought a World Cup ban was too unfocused before, but I am fairly sure that they are reconsidering now.

 

The good news is that I haven't thought of anything that others with the infrastructure haven't been discussing for awhile.

 

 

Edited January 4 by Vinny Green Balls

[LaurentRobert]

I'm hoping, probably naively, that this edition of the World Cup won't turn into a 24hr Trump broadcast.

 

The pretext suggests otherwise. From the FIFA peace prize fiasco, to Ronaldo's presidential pardon and Infantino's shameless sycophancy, all roads point towards a nauseating Trump arse licking spectacle.  

 

Call me a conspiracy theorist but it also wouldn't surprise me if the USMNT are given some favourable refereeing decisions this tournament. No way Gianni "just opened an office at Trump Tower" Infantino allows them to get knocked out in the group stage. 

 

 

[Jonas]

Not interested in it generally but not because of politics. I'd have watched 78 had I been alive and its not like people that did were pro military junta's, just wanted to watch some football.

[Vinny Green Balls]

2014: Brazil stadium controversy, worker deaths and police crackdown on protests

2018: Russia after Crimea

2022: Qatar with essentially slave labor, and worker deaths

2026: Trumpland

 

That's painting a grim picture over the last four World Cups. Throw in the Blatter corruption, the corrupt vote on Qatar's 2022 bid...there are plenty of reasons to punish FIFA.

 

 

Edited January 4 by Vinny Green Balls

[Mountain]

Sad.

[Heron]

8 hours ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

I'm well aware of that. Collective measures are the only way we can actually see change. I'm not just planning to boycott the World Cup, and then patting myself on the back. That's why I've contacted a few groups to see where they are at. They already have a big platform. So far, I know that JVP has been discussing it internally. My friend is going to propose the alternative streaming approach to them to see if it sticks. I know BDS movement thought a World Cup ban was too unfocused before, but I am fairly sure that they are reconsidering now.

 

The good news is that I haven't thought of anything that others with the infrastructure haven't been discussing for awhile.

 

 

 

Just FTR my comments weren't aimed at the folk doing something - they're aimed at the ones who agree but are doing nowt - or worse - actively doing the opposite. That includes myself on this front. So aye...I'm a hypocrite too.

[woody]

On 03/01/2026 at 09:50, Vinny Green Balls said:

Just curious. I've watched every World Cup since 1982. It's been an integral part of my life since I was 6. And missing it will really feel like a missing chapter in a brilliant book for me. This is a huge decision. 

 

But our greatest power as individuals is probably our power of consumption...the power to choose what we buy or watch. FIFA has a history of kowtowing to thugs and monsters. And Infantino is making Blatter look small change in this area. Creating a FIFA Peace Prize just to give to this spoiled cheeseburger manifested into the shape of a human being was the last fucking straw. The U.S. is a fucking rogue state and needs to be sanctioned. FIFA rightly suspended Russia, and should do the same to the United States and Israel. Until then, fuck FIFA.

 

We have to start wielding what power we have somewhere.  Not trying to preach to anyone. Just venting.

Leaning towards this. I work locally with people who will more than likely get displaced from their living situations or arrested by cops, etc. for the tournament, much like the Olympics. I’ve been chatting with seniors and single parents who are terrified their tenuous living situations will end because their landlords want to make a quick buck.

 

Our municipal and provincial (Canadian equivalent of state) government has completely bent over and spread their cheeks for FIFA for any gifts that come their way as well.

 

I know it should be for moral reasons about the U.S., but seeing the more macro decisions by a local city government has turned me off it more than anything.

 

All that combined with no one I know locally seeming that bothered by the tournament, likely due to ridiculous prices, means this will probably be the first one I check out of.

[TheBrownBottle]

On 04/01/2026 at 07:06, Vinny Green Balls said:

The more I think about it, the poster who suggested watching it on pirate sites adds something to the equation. It could weaken FIFA's commercial power over time. It's weaker than boycotting, but may have the potential to get more people on board. So a tier boycott. But the boycott is not useful unless the reasons why are well-mapped out.

Just on this one - not applicable to the UK I’m afraid - the WC broadcast rights are protected by an Act of Parliament and must be on ‘free to air’ TV.  It’s a really effective method of protest for those in countries where this doesn’t apply, of course.  

[Displayname]

Nah, not when it's Norway's first time in 3 decades. 

Laid any plans of going there to rest though. 

Wrote so much shit about Trump online that i probably wouldn't get in anyways these days.

[maze]

Same as @Displayname☝🏻

Anyway, there’s still 5-6 months left. With Trump anything can happen before kick-off. 

[andyman]

Yeah, no, I'm going to watch it. Been waiting for this since our last WC in 1998 

[Jaqen]

Would it not just be individual TV stations getting hit from any boycott? FIFA have pocketed 4 billion selling the broadcast rights already. How many people actually tune in surely doesn't effect them much? 

 

IMO there's been more controversial World Cups very recently that have attracted 5 billion viewers so whilst I respect taking a stance on an individual level I think it's very optimistic to expect a collective to be able to make a dent now. 

 

I think for most, people see sports/football as an escape and can easily overlook or not care about any of the politics around it. We are owned by one of the worst regimes to ever exist in history and it doesn't really effect my enjoyment of supporting Newcastle. 

[Moose]

I won't be actively boycotting it, but the days of me filling in my wallchart and strapping myself in for a triple header of the likes of Denmark vs Ecuador, Poland vs Iran & Cameroon vs Australia are long gone.

 

Of course I'll want England to do well but I'll be taking more of an interest in Scotland for this one. 

 

 

Edited January 5 by Moose

[TheBrownBottle]

The WC has been more than a bit iffy re its selection of host since pretty much day one.  Fascist Italy held the second WC in 1934; Nazi Germany was one of two bidders for the 1942 WC (not sure what happened there …); Argentina’s junta was able to capitalise on hosting in 1978.  FIFA has a terrible record of suspending / booting out members for their govts crimes - it’s only been the last few years where they’ve really bothered with the suspensions of Russia and Pakistan (South Africa was banned during the cultural blockade during apartheid).  The bans seem incredibly selective tbh.

 

Any actions against a ‘Trump WC’ should be welcomed, but no there should be no illusions that the well has only been poisoned recently.  Personally, the WC has no great sheen for me and hasn’t for years - I didn’t arse myself to watch the last two WC finals, and once again I’m unlikely to watch any match which doesn’t involved England or Australia.  Less to do with where they’re held, more to do with complete disinterest and disengagement from international football generally - and the latest over-bloated version of the WC holds less interest again, with peril removed from the group stages and so many shite sides now taking part.