FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed Tuesday that Donald Trump will attend the 2026 World Cup final. The two men will present the trophy together to the winning team.
Infantino made the announcement during an appearance on Fox & Friends. He said he and the president will be on the field for the final match. “We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner of course,” he said.
Trump has skipped every World Cup match so far. That includes the U.S. Men’s National Team’s opening game against Paraguay and the group stage showdown with Australia. He did call the team before the tournament started. According to The Athletic, Trump told them “I think you’ve got a really good chance of going all the way.”
But he’s shown up for other big events. Trump attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals in New York City, which the Knicks lost. He also went to UFC 250, held on the White House lawn. Both appearances drew mixed reactions. Knicks fans booed him at Madison Square Garden. After the loss, some fans burned sage outside the arena before Game 4. They said they were trying to cleanse the bad energy the president brought.
The timing of Infantino’s Fox News interview is interesting. It came one day after The Telegraph ran a story about Trump’s absence from the tournament. Andrew Giuliani, Trump’s World Cup task force chief, told the paper the president likes to keep people guessing. “I know he’s got a couple of international trips that he has planned as well as Independence Day,” Giuliani said. “He likes a good cliffhanger, right? He likes to leave people watching. So all I can tell you is keep tuned in.”
Trump already has some World Cup history this year. He presented the Club World Cup trophy at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Chelsea won that one. But Trump didn’t leave the stage after handing over the award. He stayed up there with the celebrating players. Chelsea star Reece James said he was surprised. “They told me he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage,” James told the BBC. “I thought he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay.”
Infantino has been a vocal Trump supporter. He even created a new FIFA World Peace award and gave it to Trump after the president was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year. That move raised some eyebrows around the soccer world. So did the choice to have Trump involved in the trophy ceremony at all. But Infantino seems to see it as a positive relationship. Whether fans feel the same way remains to be seen.
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