“Playing in a city where there’s unrest and people have been shot, that does not fit with our values here at Werder Bremen,” club communications head Christoph Pieper said in a statement to Politico.
“Furthermore, it was unclear for us which players could be able to enter the United States due to the stricter entry requirements,” he added.
The four-time German champion ― ranked third in the all-time Bundesliga results ― has squad members from Europe, Japan, Argentina and Nigeria.
“We as a club, we have clear values,“ Pieper said. “Our club stands for an open, pluralistic and united society. We are committed to ensuring that all people — regardless of their origin, skin colour, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability — are naturally included and have a firm place in our community.”
In 2024, the club ditched the Elon Musk-owned X for Bluesky, citing the rise in “hate speech, hatred towards minorities, right-wing extremist posts and conspiracy theories” on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The U.S. will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.
Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, earlier this month said ICE would be “a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup.”
