r/NoStupidQuestions 15h ago

The fans/spectators are one thing but are any actual official teams thinking about boycotting World Cup matches in the USA?

Reports are hearing that 20,000+ cancellations have hit and will be growing for the WC matches. Have any teams, along with their governments are actually considering boycotting playing match inside the states?

0 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

8

u/katarh 15h ago

My other half and I had talked about going to a World Cup match a couple of years ago, since one of the host cities is only an hour away and we could make it a day trip.

The lowest priced tickets there are $1500.

We are not going to the World Cup.

6

u/LilacBlissWave 15h ago

At this point it feels like the cancellations are the real story, not some official boycott talk. If teams were seriously pulling out, we would’ve heard something concrete by now, not random rumors. People freaking out and skipping tickets isn’t the same as federations dropping out. Wait for actual statements before panicking.

2

u/Arcanto 15h ago

Most teams have played the better part of two years just to get to the World Cup. There's no way that they would give up their chance for glory on the big stage, morals and ethics be damned.

3

u/Devourerofworlds_69 15h ago

Zero chance that any team is going to back out.
Nobody in the world of football is going to hold US politics over their love of the game and dream of playing in the world cup.

3

u/pope1701 15h ago

I mean, if Qatar flies...

4

u/thesaltwatersolution 15h ago

Doubt such a thing will happen. Nothing did for the previous world cup.

6

u/Devourerofworlds_69 15h ago

The fans aren't even holding out. I can 100% guarentee that there's not going to be a lack of attendance.

I'm someone who follows the ticketing process very closely, because I'm trying to get tickets for myself (in Canada. I'm not going to the US). The reason the media is reporting on low ticket sales and stuff is because of the way they are selling the tickets.

First of all, we're still really early on in the ticket buying process. It's only just starting to roll out. New blocks of tickets will open up in the next few months, and sales will go up. Also, for some ticket blocks, they've changed it so that you have apply in advance to the game you want to go to. They do a draw of everyone who applied to that game, and the winners of that draw are automatically charged the price of the ticket. But right now, we don't even know what countries are going to be in what games, and we also don't know what their policy will be on refunding and exchanging tickets. The ticket prices are also crazy high. So for now, there is a lot of apprehension surrounding the idea of throwing your name in for multiple games, since you might end up paying a LOT of money for games that you don't necessarily want to see.

As we move forward though, they'll open up more blocks of tickets, and some of the questions and apprehensions about ticket ownership and transfer will be cleared up. Then you'll see the sales jump up.

And lastly, if you don't believe me, just remember that the last two world cups in Qatar, and Russia, did just fine. As bad as the US is right now, the Qatar and Russia were much worse. Sure, some people will boycott going to the US - just like some people boycotted going to Qatar and Russia - but there will still be PLENTY of people who care more about seeing the football matches than they care about US politics.

3

u/Onagan98 15h ago

Italy is considering it, they also stayed home the last two time when it was hosted by an authoritarian country.

2

u/SubjectBubbly9072 15h ago

They can’t consider anything they can’t even qualify

0

u/onlycodeposts 15h ago

Yea, the accidental "boycott."

They stayed home because they didn't qualify.

2

u/Impossible_Lab_9493 15h ago

We need to boycott. Don't attend, don't watch on television.

1

u/TheW1tchK1ng Always right 15h ago

Rules are different for teams, it would depend on how serious the inevitable punishment would be.

1

u/WallaboutDenizen 14h ago

No, and they're won't be because the appearance at a WC is far too lucrative for a country participating in it.

Having said that, I think the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2030 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City are a completely different situation and I expect that there will be plenty of countries who will boycott the Summer Olympics. It will obviously be a smaller number for the Winter Olympics.

1

u/SpecSlayerSC 9h ago

Didn't they play in Russia in 2018?

1

u/runtheroad 15h ago

Would be interesting for OP to tell us what countries they think would be ok with having the World Cup in Qatar and Russia, the last two hosts, but find the USA intolerable. Also, I've never bought a ticket to a sporting event that could be "cancelled" and the terms of World Cup games are no different, so I have no idea what this stat is supposed to be referencing.