The Bundesliga leader

The first reaction came from Oke Gottlich, president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli and one of the ten vice-presidents of the German Football Association, who told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper in an interview on Friday that “the time have come” to “consider and discuss this seriously.”

Gottlich, who has called for the defense of values, will likely face resistance to calls for a boycott from the federation president, Bernd Neuendorf, and FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.

The German politician's initiative

For his part, Jurgen Hardt, a member of the Christian Democratic Union and a close associate of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stated regarding Trump's actions that it could be considered as a last resort to stop him in an interview with the newspaper Bild: “Canceling the tournament would only be considered as a last resort to make President Trump reconsider the Greenland issue.”

Hardt still hopes for a diplomatic solution, but does not rule out the symbolic pressure of a boycott. The threat is significant: Germany, four-time world champion (1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014), is one of the most iconic national teams on the planet and a key element for the sporting and economic success of the tournament. Its absence would represent a multi-million dollar blow for FIFA. and for the host states.

This idea of ????a boycott is not new; within Germany, there is a current of thought that shares this view. Figures in German football, and veteran coach Claude Le Roy, speaking from Africa, have all made similar statements.

For now, everything has been discussed in the realm of possibilities, especially since, if it were to materialize, it would be a seismic event for FIFA, with Gianni Infantino at the helm and his support for Trump. It would represent a financial and economic catastrophe for world football, the United States, as well as the other host countries like Mexico and Canada.