As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, U.S. President Donald Trump has called on FIFA to bring the tournament back to the United States.
Speaking at a reception in Trump Tower in New York on Friday, ahead of Sunday's final, Trump praised the country's role in hosting the competition and said he hoped it would not be long before the World Cup returned.
"You should choose the United States of America again," Trump said. "This time, we will leave Canada and Mexico out."
The United States staged 78 of the tournament's 104 matches, including every game from the quarter-finals onwards, while Canada and Mexico also hosted fixtures during the expanded competition.
The next available World Cup without a confirmed host is the 2038 tournament.
Although hosting two World Cups within 12 years would be unusual, FIFA's current rotation system leaves North America and Oceania as the only eligible regions after the governing body awarded the 2030 tournament to Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, and the 2034 edition to Saudi Arabia.
That makes the United States a potential candidate should FIFA decide to return the competition to North America.
Trump also revealed that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had discussed the possibility of the United States and China jointly hosting a future World Cup.
He did not provide further details on when such a bid could take place.
Trump is expected to attend Sunday's final between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The U.S. president also reflected on one of the tournament's more controversial moments involving American forward Folarin Balogun.
Trump reportedly contacted Infantino during the competition to discuss Balogun's red card in the United States' round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
FIFA later suspended the player's one-match ban, allowing Balogun to feature against Belgium. However, the United States suffered a 4-1 defeat and again failed to reach the quarter-finals, a stage they have not reached since 2002.
Addressing Infantino, Trump said: "You made another great decision. You'll never get credit for that."
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “...
Tajikistan tripled fuel imports from neighbouring Central Asian countries in July after deliveries from Russia declined sharply, underscoring how disr...
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will remove tariff and non-tariff barriers affecting around 20 product categories from 10 August, in a move designed to faci...
U.S. President Donald Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterising the talks positively while also threatening to hit Iran "really hard" if a deal was not reached.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two key maritime chokepoints in the region, decreased significantly from the previous day, according to shipping data.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 6th of August, covering the latest developments.
Kazakhstan’s main oil export corridor was disrupted by drone strikes near Russia’s Black Sea coast in July, forcing a temporary suspension of crude loadings and raising fresh concerns over the vulnerability of regional energy infrastructure to the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the country's ambassadors to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and several other countries. The removals came after a speech on Monday in which he said embassies would be judged on their effectiveness in securing weapons for Ukraine.
Uzbek exporters say repeated disruptions to Wildberries' logistics network in Russia have slowed deliveries and affected overseas sales, prompting the government to hold talks with the online marketplace's management.
Morocco has expressed its readiness to work with Spain and other European partners to identify and return unaccompanied minors following the mass arrival of tens of thousands of migrants Ceuta last week.
Three students and three teachers are among the dead following a school shooting in Thailand, with at least 15 injured, according to Royal Thai Police.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 7th of August, covering the latest developments.
A U.S. judge has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million over claims that its platforms failed to protect children from online harm.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment