U.S. President Donald Trump has called on soccer’s global governing body to bring the men’s FIFA World Cup back to the United States in the near future, proposing that the next American-hosted edition cut out its current co-hosts, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking on Friday, July 17, 2026, during an official FIFA World Cup reception inside Trump Tower in New York City, Trump commended the success of the current 2026 tournament before offering a characteristically bold pitch to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“You should choose the United States of America again,” Trump stated to the crowd ahead of Sunday’s highly anticipated final between Spain and Argentina. “This time, we will leave Canada and Mexico out.”
While the United States, Canada, and Mexico successfully teamed up to host this summer’s expanded 48-team tournament, Trump remarked that the U.S. has the infrastructure and capacity to handle the world’s largest sporting event entirely on its own. Under FIFA’s current continental rotation rules, the earliest the tournament could logically return to North American soil is 2038, given that the 2030 tournament will feature games in Europe, Africa, and South America, while Saudi Arabia is set to host in 2034.
Trump acknowledged that a consecutive return might draw pushback from global soccer federations, suggesting a strategic gap to quell international frustrations.
“Pick somebody else for the next one, and that will take some of the anger, hatred, and steam out of everyone,” Trump noted, before urging FIFA to immediately look back toward the U.S. market thereafter.
In a lighter moment during his address, Trump revealed that Infantino had floated a wildly unexpected concept for a prospective future tournament, co-hosting the event across the Pacific with Beijing.
“Gianni also had another idea,” Trump shared with the reception audience. “He said we could do China and the United States, so you have a nice short flight between games. The players would love that.”
Despite the jokes regarding travel logistics, Infantino praised the current North American operation on Friday, hailing the 2026 iteration as “the American dream” fully realized.
The political banter comes as the month-long tournament nears its end. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will officially wrap up on Sunday afternoon, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where newly crowned European champions Spain face off against Argentina for the world title.
