"Bundesliga club Werder Bremen have cancelled plans for a US tour, including a match in protest-hit Minneapolis, due in part to "political reasons", a spokesperson told AFP on Saturday. Bremen were in the process of planning a summer tour which was set to take place in May, with friendlies in Minneapolis and Detroit, before the start of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico."
"But the club will no longer make the trip, saying that doing so would not be consistent with the club's values. Thousands of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to Minneapolis in recent weeks as part of an immigration crackdown by US President Donald Trump. Two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were both shot dead in January during mass protests against ICE's presence in the city."
Werder Bremen cancelled planned May friendlies in Minneapolis and Detroit and will not undertake the US tour before the 2026 World Cup. Reasons included sporting, economic and political concerns, and a determination that playing in a city experiencing unrest and recent fatal shootings did not align with the club's values. Deployment of federal ICE agents and deadly protests in Minneapolis were cited as safety factors. New U.S. entry requirements, including social media reviews, raised uncertainty about player access. The club's precarious league position — 16th in the relegation playoff spot — and associated economic risks further weighed on the decision.
Read at The Local Germany
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]