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14:27So I think it's good that finally they can be on the pitch
14:31and show the world what football is about,
14:35which is bringing people together and bringing countries together.
14:39Bringing people together, of course.
14:40And it's the topic that we dived into as well this week on The Ring,
14:43that is Eury News' debating show.
14:45We asked Donald Trump, perhaps, you know,
14:48kill the vibe a little bit this year.
14:49We've seen ticket sales and hotel bookings are below expectations,
14:53especially in the United States.
14:54We can take a listen out to two MEPs that we're debating in the European Parliament this week,
14:58the Austrian MEP, Lukas Mandl, and Rasmus Andersens from The Greens.
15:03Dear colleague, you have advocated for boycotting the World Cup.
15:07I don't agree with that.
15:08I think the excitement about football is much bigger than politics can ever be.
15:12And the direct question would be,
15:14how would you explain to, let's say, a child excited about football,
15:17just interested into football and this exciting game,
15:20how would you explain to such a child to boycott the game?
15:24I did not advocate to boycott the tournament, especially not for supporters.
15:28But what I think politicians should do is to take a clear stance
15:32and to criticize both the FIFA but also the current US administration
15:36on the mistakes they are making when it also comes to organizing sports.
15:41And there, I think that politicians have a different kind of responsibility,
15:47meaning that they should not travel there and be part of the tournament
15:53and green light both the actions of the FIFA and of the US president.
15:59So for me, it's not a general boycott, but I think as politicians,
16:02we should not go there and then support.
16:07A glimpse of the ring there that you can catch the rest of, of course, on Euronews.
16:11What's your view here? What would you say to a kid?
16:13First of all, I don't think boycotts will solve anything in this respect.
16:17I think we should not deprive fans of the opportunities to follow their favorite teams.
16:22This is, I think, one of the moments where people can come together.
16:28This being said, I think, of course, football should be accessible to everyone.
16:34And I'm quite happy to see politicians around the world organizing
16:38and making spaces available for people to come and watch their favorite teams.
16:43And this is also an opportunity to highlight that here in Europe,
16:47there are governing bodies in sports like UEFA, who has a fan-first policy,
16:53which makes these games, these sporting events, accessible to people.
16:58And that's the kind of sport that I want to see.
17:00Well, you mentioned UEFA just on the Champions League we saw a few weeks ago.
17:03Unfortunately, the games were dampened by the violence that broke out in Paris.
17:07What's your responsibility here as the EU Commissioner for Sport
17:10to try and improve the situation?
17:11Well, of course, sporting events have to be safe.
17:15But this also involves a lot of coordination between the hosts,
17:19in this case, the countries which would be hosting these games,
17:22and the bodies which are organizing them.
17:25So there needs to be a lot of coordination in this respect
17:28to make these sporting events as safe as possible.
17:32OK, Commissioner Glenn Micheleff, thank you so much for coming into us this morning
17:35on this very exciting day as that World Cup gets underway.
17:39But as we've been discussing, the headlines about this year's World Cup
17:43have focused less on football and more on issues like exploding ticket prices,
17:47fan boycotts, security and visa bars, etc.
17:50Our Jakub Janus takes a closer look at the long list.
17:56FIFA president Gianni Infantino must love the view from Trump Tower.
18:00He runs a Manhattan office there, wears MAGA ties,
18:04and is called by Donald Trump, the king of soccer.
18:07I call it soccer.
18:08You know, it's just easier to do because we have football
18:12and they have two footballs, right?
18:14They call it football.
18:15But while the football elite wrap shoulders in Washington,
18:17the game is hitting a metaphorical and physical wall at the U.S. border.
18:23You see, the international teams, referees and everyday fans
18:26find it a bit difficult to see the games which start today.
18:30What is going on there?
18:33FIFA expects to pocket more than $3 billion from ticket sales and hospitality alone.
18:39But corporate pricing has broken the marketplace.
18:41Ticket packages to follow a team to the final are now estimated to cost five times more than four years
18:48ago.
18:49On top of that, nearly 180,000 tickets are flooding the official resale market
18:54and median resale prices have plunged by 20% in a single month.
18:59But the biggest bust is happening at the border security checkpoints.
19:04Infantino's sports diplomacy means nothing to U.S. immigration officers
19:08and forcing hard travel bans against four qualified nations, including Iran and Somalia.
19:13And U.S. border agents just locked Somalia's top referee in a cell for 11 hours
19:18before throwing him out of the country.
19:21Iraq's star striker was detained in Chicago for seven hours.
19:24And currently the Iranian squad is stranded,
19:27training across the border in Tijuana because Washington refused visas
19:31to 15 members of their staff, including the head of the Football Federation.
19:36So it looks like the very definition of a global sporting event
19:40is being rewritten before our own eyes.
19:43The opening week proves that football does not unite the world.
19:46It is national borders and strict immigration laws
19:49that are defining who gets to play and who stays at home.
19:53So can FIFA hold this World Cup together?
19:56Tune in on tonight to find out
19:58as Mexico opens the tournament playing against South Africa.
20:02Oh, and remember, Euronews will be covering the games.
20:05And a whole political sideshow surrounding them for you.
20:13So there you go, Euronews.com.
20:14That is your source to find out all about the games.
20:17You can also write to us here at Europe Today at Euronews.com
20:20to tell us what you think of this year's World Cup 2026.
20:24But that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
20:27Thank you so much for tuning in.
20:29As always, take care and see you soon here on Euronews.
20:32Euronews.
20:35Euronews.
20:42Euronews.
