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Fußball und Politik: Welche gesellschaftliche Verantwortung trägt der Sport?

In June 2026, the men's World Cup will kick off in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Host USA is criticized for its political situation: war against Iran (which has also qualified for the World Cup), a restrictive entry policy, the violent actions of the immigration authorities ICE, decrees by the US President against trans people - Amnesty International speaks of an "acute human rights crisis".

In the run-up to the World Cup, there were therefore isolated calls for a possible boycott, for example from Oke Göttlich, the president of FC St. Pauli. This is not the first time that calls for a boycott and demands for a position have been made during World Cups due to the political situation in the host country. The last World Cup in Qatar in 2022 was heavily criticized for human rights violations and individually boycotted by spectators, in particular due to the (deadly) working conditions on the stadium construction sites.

Looking ahead to the 2034 World Cup in autocratically ruled Saudi Arabia suggests that such debates are here to stay. Meanwhile, national associations and FIFA invoke the neutrality of sport, while at the same time decisions such as the ban on the rainbow captain's armband at the 2022 World Cup or the awarding of a FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump barely conceal political positioning. We would like to discuss this together: How much social responsibility can and should soccer take on? And who has a duty to fulfill this responsibility?

We are looking forward to an exciting discussion with Prof. Jürgen Mittag (DSHS Cologne), Lisa Steffny (ESV Olympia) and Josefine Paul (MdL, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) on 23.06.26 at 19:30 in the Stadtgarten!