Andreas Rettig, Director of Football at the German Football Association (DFB), says Germany are entering the decisive phase of their preparation for the 2026 World Cup with cautious optimism — even if he is not a fan of the expanded 48-team format. After two consecutive tournaments in which Germany failed to progress from the group stage, Rettig says the aim is clear: to be among the world’s top five teams and to improve on the current ninth place in the FIFA rankings.
But the build-up to the tournament is being overshadowed by issues off the pitch. Rettig notes a range of concerns affecting fans and players alike: inflated ticket prices, entry bans affecting some participating nations, steep local transport costs and the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding the United States, one of the main hosts. He singled out heightened friction between the US and other countries and controversial domestic immigration policies as part of a political backdrop that is impossible to ignore.
“We live in a time when we are confronted every day with things that leave me at a loss,” Rettig says, arguing that many of the developments around international sport are irrational and have thrown long-standing values and certainties into confusion. For him, the idea that sport can be neatly separated from politics no longer holds true.
Lessons from Qatar still shape DFB thinking
Rettig and the DFB are conscious of the lessons learned from the controversies at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The disagreement over the ‘One Love’ armband and the Germany team’s staged photo with hands over their mouths triggered intense debate at the time — and was followed by a poor showing on the field. The DFB’s aim for 2026 is to manage the interplay between political expression and sporting preparation more effectively.
Rettig stresses that the team’s primary focus should be the football. He does not advocate muzzling players, however, and is clear that they remain free to express their views. “Players are thoughtful and always free to speak,” he says, but he adds that political gestures can distract and sap the energy needed for performance. In his view, athletes should be allowed to express opinions, but the locker room should remain focused on the task at hand.
That division of responsibilities — players concentrating on sporting performance while officials and federation representatives handle public political stances — is part of the DFB’s current approach. Rettig accepts that senior figures like DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and other officials will inevitably engage with political questions on behalf of the federation.
Criticism from within the football community
Not everyone is satisfied with that stance. Former Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult recently criticized the DFB for not taking a stronger international position, arguing that silence is itself a statement. Schult praised the few who have spoken out clearly, notably Norway’s Lise Klaveness, who has been vocal in recent years about governance and values in the sport and publicly condemned the awarding of a high-profile prize to a controversial political figure.
Rettig himself called the decision to present a FIFA Peace Prize at a World Cup draw to a sitting US president questionable and said he did not like it. He hopes, nonetheless, that such gestures might encourage the recipient to live up to the award’s ideals.
Wider unease about governance and alliances
Beyond individual awards, Rettig and others have expressed discomfort about perceived closeness between FIFA leadership and political actors. He warns that the old idea of keeping sport entirely separate from politics is outmoded; the decisions being taken now have rapid and powerful geopolitical consequences, and sport’s moral compass appears to be shifting.
“That makes it harder to know who is a friend and who is not,” Rettig says, emphasizing a sense that previously taken-for-granted alignments are no longer reliable. He sees this as a worrying development for international sport and for the values football has long claimed to represent.
Going into 2026, Rettig wants a balance: a team concentrated on delivering strong performances on the field, and a federation prepared to voice principled positions at the political and diplomatic levels. With Germany aiming to rebound after recent disappointments, the DFB leadership believes channeling focus and energy into football will be essential — even as the surrounding political storm continues to rage.