US to fight efforts to ban Israel’s football team from World Cup 2026

In response to international calls for sporting sanctions against Israel for its genocide in Gaza, the US government says it will work to stop any attempt to stop Israel from playing in the 2026 World Cup.

A representative from the US State Department pledged in a statement to various media outlets on Thursday that “we will absolutely work to completely stop any attempt to ban Israel’s national football team from the World Cup.”

The US, Canada, and Mexico are scheduled to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After a UN commission of inquiry concluded last week that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, pressure is mounting on the European football association UEFA to outlaw Israel from international competitions. This could potentially prevent Israel from trying to qualify for the next World Cup.

According to The Associated Press news agency, the majority of the 20-member executive committee of UEFA supports a ban on Israel’s football team, with many concerned about how inconsistent football has been with regard to Russia and Israel.

In 2022, Israel joined the world’s top footballing organization, FIFA, despite numerous accusations of war crimes and the UN’s declaration that it is the perpetrator of a genocide in Gaza. Both UEFA and FIFA, the world’s governing body for football, banned Russia.

No Russia or Israel should be competing in any international competition until the barbarity ends, according to Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who added pressure last week.

According to Reuters news agency, UEFA officials are scheduled to hold an emergency vote the following week to decide the ban.

Although UEFA has the authority to forbid Israel from competing in any games that involve its European competitions, FIFA cannot forbid the Israeli national team from participating in World Cup qualifiers.

Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, is close to US President Donald Trump and has visited the world’s satellite offices in Trump Tower this week.

It’s unclear whether FIFA would support a ban on Israel given that the majority of the 2026 World Cup games are anticipated to take place in the US and that Trump is a staunch supporter of the event.

According to Reuters reports, President of the Palestinian Football Association, Jibril Rajoub, told Norway’s TV2 that Israel should be out of the World Cup.

“Israel has broken FIFA’s rules, values, and rules. Therefore, I think it’s appropriate to sanction Israel,” Rajoub said.

“UEFA and FIFA should be the ones to impose sanctions.”