A giant scandal at the World Cup! Is a boycott of the World Cup possible?
There is a lot of talk about the current number of participants in the FIFA World Cup. However, Alexander Ceferin, the head of UEFA, enraged the participants with his unfortunate words.
Last Thursday (i.e. June 11) as many as 48 teams started competing for the FIFA World Cup title. This is a record-breaking event that FIFA expanded to its limits, allowing more participants to participate in the tournament than ever before in the history of the World Cup.
A sharp reaction to the words of the UEFA president. Is this one step away from boycotting the World Cup?
Alexander Ceferin decided to stick a stick into the anthill. The head of UEFA admitted that such a large World Cup would result in many matches being called “uninteresting”. It is no secret that the authorities of the European federation are opposed to FIFA’s actions. In this case, however, Ceferin caused a sharp reaction from those who were slightly smaller but still had full World Cup rights.
Representatives of Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan, Congo, Haiti, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire clearly opposed such treatment and dividing participants into better and worse.
For nations like Congo and Haiti, the return to football’s biggest stage after a long absence has particular significance for the millions of fans who have waited years, and in some cases decades, for this moment (…) To suggest that these matches are somehow less important is deeply disappointing and underestimates the efforts, sacrifices and aspirations of players, coaches, clubs, football leaders and fans around the world (…) Behind every qualification there are years of work and investment. Behind every national team there are entire communities and millions of people who see football as a source of pride, hope and unity (…) That is why we reject the comments of the UEFA president and reaffirm our belief that the development of football must continue to create opportunities, inspire new generations and strengthen the truly global nature of our game – we read in a special statement.
World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?
From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.
The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay. The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).
Poles will not be at the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Coach Jan Urban’s team was one step away from promotion, but lost the away match against the Swedes in the final of the UEFA play-off zone (2-3), thus dashing their hopes of advancing to the most important football event of the last four years.
Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.
