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Europe Today: EU Sports Commissioner on Euronews as biggest-ever World Cup kicks off
The much anticipated FIFA World Cup kicks off today, bringing together some of the world's biggest footballers for a month of matches. We speak exclusively to Glenn Micallef, the EU Commissioner for Sports to hear the Brussels view on one of the most political World Cups to date.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/11/europe-today-eu-sports-commissioner-on-euronews-as-biggest-ever-world-cup-kicks-off
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The much anticipated FIFA World Cup kicks off today, bringing together some of the world's biggest footballers for a month of matches. We speak exclusively to Glenn Micallef, the EU Commissioner for Sports to hear the Brussels view on one of the most political World Cups to date.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/11/europe-today-eu-sports-commissioner-on-euronews-as-biggest-ever-world-cup-kicks-off
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:14Good morning, it is Thursday the 11th of June. I'm Maeve MacMahon and this is Europe Today,
00:20your news morning show that brings you all the stories driving the day.
00:24Coming up, the countdown is over and today the much-anticipated FIFA World Cup kicks off,
00:30bringing together some of the world's biggest footballers for a month of matches.
00:34We'll be joined by Glenn Michaelef, the EU Commissioner for Sports, to hear the Brussels
00:38view on one of the most political World Cups to date. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is in the
00:44headlines after another night of unrest since a knife attack in Belfast on Monday left a man
00:50seriously injured. The suspect, as Sudanese National, has been charged with attempted murder.
00:55The incident sparked anti-immigration protests that turned violent, with cars and homes set
01:01on fire and police deployed across the city. And the Cypriot Presidency is set to unveil
01:07its wish list for the EU's long-term budget. Their proposals suggest a 2% reduction to the
01:14Commission's €2 trillion spending plan. The goal is to seal a deal by Christmas to avoid debates
01:20ahead of 2027 when key elections take place in France, Poland, Spain and Italy. But first,
01:28to Luxembourg, where Eurozone finance ministers are gathering on the same day the European Central
01:33Bank mulls an increase in interest rates due to higher inflation as a result of the instability
01:38in the Middle East. For more, we can now head straight to Luxembourg and bring in our Europe
01:42editor, Maria Tadeo, who's joined there by the head of the Eurogroup. Good morning, Maria. Just tell
01:47us first what is on the agenda. Good morning, Maven. Indeed, there are two important meetings. The
01:54Eurogroup is gathering here in Luxembourg. But of course, the focus is very much on the European
01:58Central Bank, which has now seen increasing interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.25%. Obviously,
02:06this is a scenario in which growth for the European economy has been dented because of this war. But
02:11also, you are seeing this operational for both banks, but also consumer interest rate environment
02:17going up. And to debrief, I'm happy to say we're joined by the head of the Eurogroup,
02:22Kyriakos Pyrrakakis, also, of course, Greek finance minister. Sir, the European Central Bank will
02:27increase interest rates. That is very much what financial markets are expecting. I know you're not
02:32going to comment on the European Central Bank. There's independence. But is that going to make your
02:37life more difficult if we see this higher interest rate environment?
02:40Good morning from Luxembourg. Good morning to your viewers. Let me begin by saying that,
02:44as you suggested, the European ministers of finance do not comment upon monetary policy. We trust
02:48the ECB to fulfill its role to anchor inflation expectations, which it must. And at the same time,
02:54what we do know is that we should do fiscal policy. We should implement policies that do not
02:59contradict monetary policy. We need to have orchestrated policies that optimally support citizens.
03:04We know that inflation right now is a challenge. We know that growth is at the same time a challenge.
03:08And we're trying to optimally target our policies to protect the most vulnerable, while also investing
03:14in our long-term needs, especially with regards to energy and energy infrastructural investments.
03:19And you made a critical, crucial point on this. Because the European Central Bank is increasing
03:24interest rates, because inflation, once again, went up in May, a lot of that is driven by energy. But
03:29your policy should not make it worse, and it should not contradict it. So on the fiscal side of things,
03:34how are you going to help households and Europeans with those bills, but all at the same time,
03:39keep that inflation pressure lower? How's that?
03:42We know that we should be doing effectively three things at once, which makes the situation even more challenging.
03:46On the one hand, you need to support the most vulnerable households that are most in need.
03:51Second, you should be fiscally prudent, because we know that the fiscal situation, compared to what it was
03:55in 2022, is actually now more challenging. And the third point is that what you do in the long run
04:01should fit what you do in the short run. And when we invest in energy, we're effectively investing
04:06in the long run sovereignty capabilities and needs of the European Union as a whole.
04:11What do we know? We know that the investments that we made since 2022 as Europeans enabled us
04:17to fill the crisis, as the IMF calculates, by 12 percent less, compared to what we would have had
04:23had we not made the requisite investments. So what is the Commission proposing?
04:26They are proposing extra fiscal flexibility with regards to investments in energy infrastructure.
04:33And how is that going to play in? Because you know very well your Italian colleague,
04:36representing the government of Giorgio Meloni, will say today, Italy still wants to see more flexibility
04:42in energy. Whatever they spend on energy, they don't want that included in debt and deficit
04:46calculations. Is the Eurogroup open to that suggestion? Because the Italians are making it very
04:51clear they need help on energy.
04:53Let me make first two points. When we had the escape clause for defense, we knew that
04:58investments in defense are about Europe's freedom. Investments in energy are about Europe's
05:02economic independence. And what do we know? We know that the best social policy is to actually
05:07lower energy prices in the long run, not only doing a short-run fix, a quick fix to address
05:15the current needs that we have in front of us. So in this regard, what the Commission is proposing,
05:20which is some extra flexibility to accommodate for investments in energy, I think constitutes
05:25a very targeted and a very fair approach, a very fair proposal. And this is exactly what we're going to
05:29be
05:29discussing today.
05:30The Italians, however, continue to say it will not be enough. This is a very serious situation.
05:34measures should be implemented now in order to stop a recession. Nonetheless, that recession has not
05:40happened. That worst-case scenario of flights who maybe could not even take off over summer has not
05:46happened yet. What is your outlook? How do you see this European economy performing in a very
05:51difficult scenario, but not in a catastrophic scenario yet?
05:54Well, let me put it this way. Our work is to render Europe more resilient. So in this regard,
05:59what do we know? We know that we're not in the worst-case scenario, as you suggested, but we also
06:03know that we're not in the best-case scenario. We're in a challenging situation. So what has the
06:07Commission proposed? Targeted measures, measures that are temporary, targeted, and tailored in order
06:11to support the most vulnerable and those in need. At the same time, what do we know? We know that
06:16investments in energy, as I mentioned before, effectively make the European Union, the energy
06:21union more resilient, and at the end of the day, they constitute the most productive and the most
06:26effective social policy. We're going to be discussing this today. But you don't see a recession
06:30happening. You don't see a big economic downturn. You think the worst has been avoided. Well, let me
06:34put it this way. We are closely monitoring the situation. We know that the numbers have been
06:38adapted. They have been updated. Inflation upwards, growth downwards. Are we in a stagflationary
06:43tendency? We are, but we're not in stagflation. So we're going to monitor the situation. The
06:48Commission overall is adapting its proposals contextually. So the situation has changed,
06:53and this is why the Commission has proposed this extra fiscal flexibility with regards
06:57to energy investments. So we're going to monitor. We're going to discuss. There are different
07:00viewpoints at the table. I've said this publicly. And we're going to try to do our best.
07:04And just a final minute on this matter. The head of the IMF will also be participating in
07:09the talks. The IMF, Kristalina Gergeva, she has said she's in favor of common debt for common
07:14European projects. That would be good for Europe. How's that conversation going along? Is that
07:18something you can support more joint borrowing?
07:20Let me put it this way. We already had the IMF join our discussions. I mentioned before
07:24this calculation about 12 percent less impact because of what we did. This is an IMF calculation
07:29with regards to energy. I had the privilege of meeting Kristalina Gergeva yesterday with
07:34my other hat, that of the Greek Minister of Finance. And if I may make a quick point, I think
07:38it's
07:38quite symbolic to see my country, Greece, from a country that was a participant in an IMF-led program,
07:44to now be a contributor of technical know-how for the Southeastern Europe Technical Assistance
07:49Center in the region. So the work of the IMF, I think, is quite pertinent to support the
07:53work that we, as European Ministers of Finance, are trying to do. We're going to be discussing
07:57all of those issues at the Eurogroup. Obviously, as you know, my work as President of the Eurogroup
08:02is to speak about what we all agree upon at the same time. On that very topic, there are
08:06different viewpoints. But certainly, there isn't an issue that we're not planning to discuss.
08:10Well, Minister, thank you so much. And head of the Eurogroup, of course, his job is to
08:14find consensus. But at this point, Maven, you alluded to this, budget talks will begin.
08:18The conversation about Eurobonds certainly has not died. It's a difficult job to find
08:22consensus on this matter.
08:23It is indeed, Maria Taddeo. Thank you so much for that live broadcast there from Luxembourg.
08:27And of course, to your guest, the head of the Eurogroup. But now moving on, today is the
08:3111th of June, which means the World Cup begins. It's the most exciting day of the year
08:36if you're an avid football fan. The 2026 World Cup, which is the largest World Cup
08:46to date, will kick off with historic ceremonies across the host countries, the US, Canada and
08:51Mexico. Today, one of the hosts, Mexico, will be facing South Africa in Mexico City and then
08:57South Korea taking on Czechia in Guadalajara in Mexico. The excitement, of course, is palpable.
09:03But this year, the high spurts could be marred by geopolitics, immigration enforcement and
09:08the Trump administration's travel bans. For the view from Brussels, we can bring in now
09:12the EU Commissioner for Sports, Glenn Michailov. Good morning.
09:15Good morning, Neil.
09:16Great to have you with us. I know you're a big football fan.
09:18I am a huge football fan.
09:20And I know you're actually not too bad at football as well. We have some pictures there
09:23we can play of you showing off your football skills there. Did you ever dream of being a
09:29professional football player? I actually played football when I was younger. So ever since
09:34I could walk, I always remember myself carrying my football around.
09:38So how are you feeling then today? Could you even sleep last night over the World Cup?
09:41I can't wait for the kickoff later on today. So I've been, for the past few months, immersing
09:46myself. I have World Cup fever at the moment.
09:48World Cup fever. And does the Berlimont too? Does the European Commission? What's the vibe
09:51like there?
09:52I know there are a couple of people in the corridors of the Berlimont who are also really
09:57keen on what's happening and following the developments of their favourite football team.
10:03And will you even stay up late to watch some of the games?
10:05I will try to watch all of the games. So there are 16 European teams that are participating.
10:11I'm really looking forward to watching all their matches, but all other matches as well,
10:16because this is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, along with the Olympic Games.
10:21Who are you up for? Who's going to take it home?
10:24My prediction would be two teams, either Spain or France, but I think Spain will win it at the end.
10:29Well, you've got football fever. And of course, everyone's talking about the games,
10:32from TikTok influencers to schoolgoers who are swapping football stickers,
10:36because last time 1.5 billion of us tuned in for the final.
10:40And now for the view from the EU quarter here on who could take home the Cup,
10:44Euro News' Adlan Leal went out with the Euro News mic.
10:48The biggest ever World Cup starts today. For the first time, three different countries will host the event,
10:53a record number of 104 games will be played, and the number of participants has been extended to 48.
10:59Here in Brussels, not only Europe's capital, but also one of the most international cities in the world,
11:05people will surely be watching closely. But who do they think is going to win and why? Let's find out.
11:10I want England to win the World Cup because after 60 years of hurt, now it's finally time for football
11:17to come home.
11:18But who's going to win the World Cup? Probably France. What can I say?
11:21I think Belgium is going to win because they deserve it.
11:23We have Italian coaches abroad. Ancelotti is coaching Brazil,
11:29Cannavaro is coaching Uzbekistan, and Montella is with Turquie.
11:32We can take comfort in their successes.
11:34And their eventual success.
11:37I think Portugal will win the World Cup because of Cristiano Ronaldo's last tournament.
11:42I believe Brazil because I'm Brazilian. Even living in Europe, I believe it's Brazil.
11:48Not because I believe we're the best. We will only know at the end.
11:51I want that Mexico wins because of our Berlin-Veneda.
11:56But I think Spain or France will win it.
11:59Back-to-back for Messi, Argentina. And we also support Willy Zemedo and Cape Verde.
12:04I would love Scotland to win it. So after 20 years, it's the first time back.
12:07And I think either France or Spain can win it.
12:10At the end of the day, I want my country to win the World Cup.
12:13So Islamic Republic of Iran, always.
12:16I want Uzbekistan to win.
12:18Who I think should win is Ghana. But who I think will win, Brazil or France?
12:28So many there reckon France will take it home.
12:30And of course, the bookies are saying it's between France and Spain.
12:33We'll have to wait and see.
12:35Some bold predictions there.
12:35We'll have to wait and see.
12:36Because of course, football is meant to unite, Commissioner.
12:39But this year, thousands cannot go.
12:41They're left out due to travel bans, visa restrictions.
12:44L'Equipe here, a French daily, kind of captured the mood this year.
12:48The kind of vibe that's overshadowing a lot of the headlines.
12:51How will these games bring the world together if so many people are left out?
12:54Well, for starters, I hope that this World Cup will be remembered for pure football excitement,
13:00for the joy and passion it brings on the pitch, but also for millions of fans around the world
13:06who, in times like these, come together in squares, in bars, in cafes to watch their favorite teams.
13:12Of course, it's about accessibility.
13:14These decisions on who has access are for the host country also to take decisions on.
13:22But I hope that this will be one of the World Cups that's remembered for football excitement and for the
13:28joy it brings.
13:28Because the reality is that it's not.
13:30That is not the case.
13:31We've seen one top African referee, a Somali national.
13:34He cannot enter the US.
13:35He cannot participate.
13:36And these are the headlines that are overshadowing and kind of dampening the mood this year.
13:41Well, of course, you always have around big sporting events, whatever they are, controversies.
13:48And these are, of course, issues that merit attention.
13:52But my hope is that for the time being, we focus on sport, on football and on the joy it
13:59brings.
13:59And what about Iran?
14:00We saw some lady there.
14:01She was expressing her hope that Iran would win.
14:03But we've seen many Iranian-Americans out on the streets as well telling FIFA they should have cancelled Iran's participation
14:09due to the ongoing war.
14:10Because the Iranians are using their players to try to make themselves look good on the world stage.
14:15What's your view here?
14:16Well, it's good that finally there is a solution and the Iranian national team can participate in the tournament.
14:22I think the Iranian team qualified and on merit they should participate.
14:27So I think it's good that finally they can be on the pitch and show the world what football is
14:34about, which is bringing people together and big 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 Eurie News' debating show.
14:45We asked it.
14:46Donald Trump perhaps, you know, kill the vibe a little bit this year.
14:49We've seen ticket sales and hotel bookings are below expectations, especially 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, how would you explain to, let's say, a child excited about football, just interested
15:18into 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 and to criticize both the FIFA but
15:34also the current U.S. administration on 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, meaning that they should not travel there and
15:51be part of the tournament and green light both the actions of the FIFA and of the U.S. president.
15:59So for me, it's not a general boycott.
16:01But I think as politicians, we should not go there and 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?
16:11What would you say to a kid?
16:13Well, first 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 and making spaces available for people to come and
16:41watch their favorite teams.
16:43And this is also an opportunity to highlight that here in Europe, there are governing bodies in sports like UEFA,
16:51who has a fan first policy, which 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 to 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, in this case, the countries which would be hosting
17:21these games and the bodies which are organizing them.
17:25And so there needs to be a lot of coordination in this respect to make to make these sporting events
17:30as safe as possible.
17:32OK, Commissioner Glenn Micheleff, thank you so much for coming into us this morning on this very exciting day as
17:37that World Cup gets underway.
17:39But as we've been discussing, the headlines about this year's World Cup have focused less on football and more on
17:45issues like exploding ticket prices, fan boycotts, security and visa bars, etc.
17:50Our Jakob Janis 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 and is called by Donald Trump, the king of soccer.
18:07I call it soccer. You know, it's just easier to do because we have football and they have two footballs,
18:13right?
18:14They call it football.
18:15But while the football elite wrap shoulders in Washington, the game is hitting a metaphorical and physical wall at the
18:21U.S. border.
18:22You see, the international teams, referees and everyday fans find it a bit difficult to see the games which start
18:29today.
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 and median resale prices have plunged
18:57by 20% in a single month.
18:59But the biggest bust is happening at the border security checkpoints.
19:04Infantinos sports diplomacy means nothing to U.S. immigration officers, enforcing hard travel bans against four qualified nations, including Iran
19:12and Somalia.
19:13And U.S. border agents just locked Somalia's top referee in a cell for 11 hours before throwing him out
19:19of the country.
19:20Iraq's star striker was detained in Chicago for seven hours.
19:24And currently the Iranian squad is stranded, training across the border in Tijuana because Washington refused visas to 15 members
19:32of their staff, including the head of the Football Federation.
19:36So it looks like the very definition of a global sporting event is 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 that 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 as Mexico opens the tournament playing against South Africa.
20:02Oh, and remember, Euronews will be covering the games and the 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 to tell us what you think of
20:22this 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.
20:38Euronews.
20:42Euronews.
20:43You
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