Donald Trump is not waiting around for 2038. The U.S. president sat down with Fox Sports ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final and made it clear he wants the tournament back on American soil way sooner than FIFA’s rules technically allow.
“Based on the numbers we will be requesting it immediately,” Trump said in the interview. He acknowledged the idea would probably piss some people off — “shock” and “anger” were his words — but he’s pushing ahead anyway. Trump said he plans to ask FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly to make it happen, adding, “We have to do this again, and we have to do this again while I am around, hear that Gianni?”
Here’s the problem. FIFA’s own bidding rules say a country from a confederation that hosted either of the two previous World Cups can’t even bid for the next one. The 2026 tournament just wrapped up across the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The 2030 edition goes to Morocco, Portugal and Spain (with opening games in South America for the centenary). The 2034 tournament is already locked in for Saudi Arabia. That math means the U.S. isn’t eligible again until 2038 at the earliest.
Trump doesn’t seem to care about the rulebook. He told Fox Sports he had a “great idea” for Infantino and claimed demand for this summer’s tournament was “overflowing.” FIFA’s official attendance numbers back him up on that part — 6.6 million total for the first 48-team World Cup, which is more than the 2018 and 2022 tournaments combined.
Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain will be Trump’s first live match of the tournament. He’s also scheduled to present the trophy to the winning team. And he made a prediction: Argentina wins it again. “It’s hard to bet against Messi,” Trump said.
Trump’s relationship with Infantino has been one of the quieter subplots hanging over this World Cup. Not the only one, either. Ticket prices, visa delays and the U.S. being in an active war with Iran — one of the tournament’s competing nations — all created headaches during the buildup.
But right now, the president is focused on the final and on floating the idea of a do-over. Whether FIFA’s rules or the rest of the world’s soccer federations go along with it is another question entirely.
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