{"id":46431,"date":"2026-01-30T12:25:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46431"},"modified":"2026-01-31T13:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T21:03:19","slug":"46431","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/30\/46431\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid calls for World Cup boycott, Super Bowl in Santa Clara faces heightened scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By\u00a0Scott Ostler<\/a>, Sports Columnist Jan 28, 2026 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift Article<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

President Donald Trump greets FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Dec. 5.Tasos Katopodis – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images<\/em><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When President Donald Trump humbly accepted the coveted FIFA Peace Prize, little did he know that his greatest peacemaking challenge lies ahead: saving this summer\u2019s World Cup from chaos created by the old peacemeister himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan is for 11 U.S. cities, including San Francisco\/Santa Clara, to host 78 of the World Cup\u2019s 104 matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the plan. However, there is a growing worldwide movement to poop the American party via boycotts by fans and players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bay Area will have a say in that business. The Super Bowl will be held in Santa Clara a week from Sunday, and the fun is already starting. A thousand cool events are planned and tens of thousands of fans will be coming to America\u2019s biggest party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes well, that might take some of the steam out of the boycott movement. If there are problems \u2014 and Minneapolis knows what we\u2019re talking about \u2014 the world will take an even harder look at coming to America for the World Cup this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already there are worrisome elements. ICE has promised to be on hand for this Super Bowl.<\/a> We\u2019ve saved their agents a lot of trouble, since most of the car windows in San Francisco have already been shattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICE was at the last Super Bowl in Santa Clara, but busied itself mostly with driving out the sellers of non-licensed Super Bowl T-shirts. This time ICE\u2019s presence has a different feel, having been first announced in reaction to the news that ICE-wary Bad Bunny would headline the halftime entertainment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any ICE-related clashes or unrest surrounding the Super Bowl will be fuel for the boycott-the-World Cup bandwagon, which is already chugging along nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Swiss attorney named Mark Pieth, who led an investigation of FIFA corruption a decade ago, said in a newspaper interview, \u201cIf we consider everything we\u2019ve discussed, there\u2019s only one piece of advice for fans: Stay away from the USA! You\u2019ll see it better on TV anyway. And upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don\u2019t please the officials, they\u2019ll be put straight on the next flight home, if they\u2019re lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president, wrote on social media, \u201cI think Mark Pieth is right to question this World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other sports and political leaders in many countries are piping up, urging fans, players and teams to boycott. What\u2019s their beef? They select from the menu that includes Trump\u2019s attempts to take Greenland, his punitive tariffs, his destabilization of the world\u2019s politics, and the aggressive and deadly immigration roundup that has come to a head in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FIFA Peace Prize winner himself kicked off the boycott. In December, Trump announced an expansion of his travel ban that would shut out many fans from Senegal and Ivory Coast. Also disinvited to the party by Trump bans: fans from Iran and Haiti, whose teams qualified for the Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those empty seats at American venues could easily be filled, but there are increased calls for boycotts by players and teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really wonder when the time will be to think and talk about this (a boycott) concretely,\u201d said Oke G\u00f6ttlich, a German soccer federation executive, in a newspaper interview. \u201cFor me, that time has definitely come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a boycott would adversely affect players, G\u00f6ttlich said, \u201cThe life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host.\u201d (The German federation\u2019s president, Bernd Neuendorf, was quick to dismiss G\u00f6ttlich\u2019s call for a boycott as coming from a lone representative, the Athletic reported.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding to the mix, Trump has threatened to move World Cup games from any U.S. host cities where games would pose safety concerns, seemingly aiming his threat at cities with Democratic mayors and what he calls \u201ccrime problems.\u201d And Trump has a very sensitive crime-problem meter, having declared that Los Angeles and Portland were burning to the ground after a couple of Waymos went up in flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, we know how Trump feels about Gov. Gavin Newsom. And vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So fans and teams heading to America for the Cup will be playing Trump roulette. Will the games be rerouted to other cities? Will fans who look, you know, different, or who step out of line in any way, be subject to unpleasant scrutiny? Will action by ICE or other federal agents turn a soccer match into a war zone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the logistics, there are moral issues. South African politician Julius Malema likened a potential boycott to what his country experienced during apartheid, when it was widely boycotted by other nations and groups for violating human rights and international law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cannot sit back and allow a person to destabilize the world, and it becomes business as usual,\u201d Malema said. \u201cThat is an act of cowardice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all the political rhetoric, the potential boycotters and everyone planning to come to America this summer for the World Cup will be watching how the Super Bowl unfolds in Santa Clara with great interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump himself has said he won\u2019t attend the game, because it\u2019s just too darn far for him to travel. He has also expressed disgust with the NFL\u2019s choice in musical entertainment at the Super Bowl \u2014 Bad Bunny and Green Day, neither of whom are on Trump\u2019s DJ playlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine Trump blowing off the chance to be the headliner at America\u2019s biggest party. He sees himself as a major mover and shaker in the sports world. He once tried to buy an NFL team, and he is demanding that the Washington Commanders\u2019 new stadium be named after him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether Trump attends the Super Bowl, his presence will be felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will be watching, and so will the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan 28, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Ostler<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports Columnist<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scott Ostler has been a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1991. He has covered five Olympics for The Chronicle, as well as one soccer World Cup and numerous World Series, Super Bowls and NBA Finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he started in sports and is there now, Scott took a couple of side trips into the real world for The Chronicle. For three years he wrote a daily around-town column, and for one year, while still in sports, he wrote a weekly humorous commentary column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has authored several books and written for many national publications. Scott has been voted California Sportswriter of the Year 13 times, including six times while at The Chronicle. He moved to the Bay Area from Southern California, where he worked for the Los Angeles Times, the National Sports Daily and the Long Beach Press-Telegram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Scott Ostler, Sports Columnist Jan 28, 2026 (SFChronicle.com) Gift Article President Donald Trump greets FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Dec. 5.Tasos Katopodis – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images When President Donald Trump humbly accepted the coveted FIFA… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46431"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46453,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46431\/revisions\/46453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}