Will Russia Participate in the 2026 World Cup?

Allowing Russia to play the World Cup would be a good incentive for Putin to stop the war?

"Russia has been banned from playing in the next World Cup. What is your position on this?" a journalist asks Donald Trump during the first meeting of his administration's task force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
"I didn't know that. Is that right?" Trump replies, turning to Gianni Infantino for confirmation.
"That's right. They are banned for the time being from playing, but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted", Infantino replies.

In that instant, a lightbulb went on for Trump.

"That's possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want them to stop. We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop. Five thousand young people a week are being killed - it's not even believable."

Needless to say, it is deeply concerning that the President of one of the host nations was unaware of such a thing, especially considering everything that has happened with Russia since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

But moving past this gaffe, it's interesting to note how, according to Trump, allowing Russia to participate in the World Cup could be a good incentive to convince Putin to stop the war.

But is this the case?

Would it take so little to convince Vladimir Putin to end the war?

Statements like these once again reflect the American president's ignorance regarding the situation and, above all, of what the invasion of Ukraine means to Russia.

Equating a war with participation in an undoubtedly important event like the World Cup means having a clouded view of reality.

So let's try to understand how we got here, what Russia's chances of participating are, and above all, whether lifting the sports boycott could convince Russia to end the war.