Even amid a debate over boycotting the football World Cup, most German citizens still want the national team to travel to the United States as planned this summer. A survey conducted by the opinion‑research institute Forsa for the magazine “Stern” and the broadcaster RTL found that 71 % oppose a boycott, while only 24 % favor withdrawing from the tournament. Calls for a German exit have recently intensified because of the political situation in the United States.
The rejection of a boycott is consistently high across East and West, across all age groups, and among both football enthusiasts and non‑fans. Supporters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Alternative for Germany (AfD) all vote the majority against a boycott.
In contrast, supporters of the Greens are the most inclined to call for a boycott, with 44 % of them endorsing the idea, followed closely by the Left at about 48 %. These figures refer to the proportion of each party’s supporters who would urge the national team-coached by Julian Nagelsmann-to boycott the World Cup.
The data were collected by Forsa on 29‑30 January 2026 for “Stern” and RTL Germany from a sample of 1,009 respondents.
