By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump mentioned Friday that the draw for the 2026 World Cup will happen on Dec. 5 on the Kennedy Heart in Washington, and didn’t rule out that he himself may oversee the occasion.
“It’s the largest, in all probability the largest occasion in sports activities, I assume,” mentioned Trump, who made the announcement in an Oval Workplace occasion the place he was joined by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Vice President JD Vance.
The U.S. is co-hosting subsequent 12 months’s match — which for the primary time will characteristic 48 nationwide groups up from 32 — with Canada and Mexico. The draw occasion will decide the World Cup’s teams, and the video games every staff performs within the opening spherical.
Infantino mentioned the 48 groups will play “104 matches in a single month” and likened it to “104 Tremendous Bowls.” Trump picked up on that theme, saying, “It’s like having many Tremendous Bowls in a brief time frame, as a result of every certainly one of these video games, primarily, is a Tremendous Bowl. A few of them are greater than Tremendous Bowls, really.”
The World Cup kicks off June 11 on the Azteca Stadium in Mexico Metropolis and runs via the ultimate on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Video games might be performed in 16 cities throughout the three international locations. Washington, D.C., shouldn’t be among the many host cities.
Trump mentioned that the Kennedy Heart “will give an exceptional kickoff and we’ll be concerned.” Requested if he’d be the one really drawing the staff names, Trump didn’t reply immediately however deferred to Infantino, saying the FIFA chief “was the boss.”
Infantino mentioned, “It’s a really attention-grabbing proposal,” and he indicated that he and Trump would talk about the matter additional.
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President Donald Trump, left, shakes the hand of FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the conclusion of an announcement within the Oval Workplace of the White Home, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin)
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President Donald Trump, left, shakes the hand of FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the conclusion of an announcement within the Oval Workplace of the White Home, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin)
The selection of venue is attention-grabbing as a result of Trump has taken over the Kennedy Heart, putting in himself as chair and changing the board of trustees with loyalists. He’s additionally hinted he’d prefer to see the venue renamed the Trump/Kennedy Heart.
There had been hypothesis for months that the draw can be held in Las Vegas. The occasion is historically a mixture of leisure and the enterprise of dividing the groups into 12 teams of 4 for the opening stage of the match. When the US held the World Cup in 1994, the draw was held on the Las Vegas Conference Heart and Stevie Marvel was among the many performers.
In December when the draw is held, 42 of the 48 groups might be recognized, together with the automated berths given to the US, Mexico and Canada as hosts. The remaining six groups might be decided by playoffs in March.
The president additionally used Friday’s FIFA announcement to boast about his deploying the Nationwide Guard and federalizing Washington’s police power.
“So now, when we have now this stunning occasion in December, it’s going to be very secure,” Trump mentioned. He added that the FIFA chief “can stroll down the road along with your stunning spouse. You’ll be able to take her to dinner, if you will get a reservation.”
Requested about followers abroad acquiring U.S. visas to return watch their groups within the World Cup, Trump at first mentioned the method can be a easy one, however then added, “Sure international locations are going to be very, very simple, and different international locations are going to be clearly slightly bit tougher.”
A journey ban that the Trump administration imposed in June contains Iran, which has certified for the World Cup. The coverage makes exceptions for “any athlete or member of an athletic staff, together with coaches, individuals performing a vital assist function, and rapid kinfolk, touring for the World Cup, Olympics, or different main sporting occasion as decided by the secretary of state.” It doesn’t embody an exemption for followers.
In an uncommon transfer, Infantino additionally introduced the World Cup trophy with him to the Oval Workplace. It’s a superstition almost as outdated because the World Cup itself: gamers on nationwide groups across the globe imagine that touching the trophy earlier than their staff really wins the match on the sphere can spark unhealthy luck.
Even Infantino famous that the trophy is “for winners solely,” however then he added to Trump, “And, since you’re a winner, after all you may as effectively.”
The president did simply that, calling the trophy “a gorgeous piece of gold” and joking about holding it and displaying it within the Oval Workplace, which Trump has redone in a gaudy, gold-hued decor.
“It matches very effectively proper on the wall over there,” Trump mentioned.
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