Potential for Danish soccer rebellion may put FIFA to test

Whether you call it soccer, football, or something else entirely, it’s undeniable that it’s the most popular sport on the globe.

Soccer has an unprecedented degree of relevance and impact, with an estimated 4 billion supporters worldwide.

The significance of FIFA to the soccer community is immense. Since its inception in 1904, the international governing body has been instrumental in developing soccer into a worldwide phenomenon.

The international events it organizes draw huge crowds and serve as a unifying force for countries worldwide because of the organization’s role as the sport’s regulatory body.

Denmark plotting breaking away from FIFA

But is FIFA essential to the game of soccer?

In contrast, the Danish football association hinted at an unexpected radicalism last November, when the rainbow armband scandal was at its height ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

When asked whether Denmark would contemplate withdrawing from FIFA, the DBU president Jesper Moller said: “It is not a decision that has been made now … We have been discussing it in the Nordic region since August … I have to think about the question of how to restore confidence in FIFA. We must evaluate what has happened, and then we must create a strategy – also with our Nordic colleagues.”

What it would mean for other big nations

The Guardian columnist Jonathan Wilson criticizes FIFA president Gianni Infantino for caring only about money and maintaining his own power. No one was asked for input before unveiling the enlarged World Cup and Club World Cup. The columnist also fights that Infantino relies heavily on Gulf money in his quest for control of Uefa. In order to host the World Cup in Qatar, FIFA had to make some disgraceful concessions, such as ignoring Article 4 of its own statutes, which forbids discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

The major European countries may rise up against Infantino’s rule if they became tired of the expansion of tournaments or, implausibly, for ethical reasons. Fifa would have a serious issue on its hands if the World Cup were played without Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, or England.

Photo credit: IMAGO / PA Images