The most watched sporting event in human history will once again take place this summer, and this time it will be played on home turf. For the first time since 1994, the United States will host the FIFA Men’s World Cup, sharing the tournament’s 23rd edition with neighboring nations Mexico and Canada. Out of the tournament’s 104 games, seventy-eight will be played on American soil, including the final in Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. FIFA has recently announced that over 1 million tickets have already been sold for the tournament, and a new batch of tickets will reportedly soon be available for global soccer fans.
The World Cup is arriving at a contentious time in American politics, especially regarding President Donald Trump’s relationship with cities across the nation. From sending the national guard into urban areas and vaguely threatening “more” on top of that, Trump has held no punches in his partisan punishment of liberal-leaning cities. One of the Trump Administration’s newest strategies in attacking these non-loyalist cities and their mayors is by using the FIFA World Cup.
The politicization of global soccer tournaments, even in the United States, is not a new concept. This past summer, the first edition of an expanded FIFA Club World Cup was played in the U.S. Meant to be a trial to test America’s ability of hosting a large soccer tournament with international fans, the tournament appeared to be a commercial success.
As the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup drew to a close, Trump was the one making the headlines. On the one year anniversary of the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him, Trump watched Chelsea defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the Club World Cup final alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino. As Chelsea prepared to lift their trophy on the pitch, the players were confused as Trump stepped up to celebrate their win with them. Furthermore, Trump kept a replica of the tournament’s trophy in the Oval Office. Many fans also believe that one Chelsea player’s medal was actually taken by Trump as some kind of souvenir for his desk.
The political fanfare of this past summer’s Club World Cup has only built up more speculation around how Trump will use the tournament to bolster his public image. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he would like President Vladimir Putin of Russia to attend the tournament despite the fact that the Russian Federation is banned from even qualifying for the World Cup due to their invasion of Ukraine. However, the most interesting relationship surrounding the tournament is the amicable one between Trump and Infantino.
The two have formed quite the bond in the public eye, with Infantino even attending Trump’s Inauguration in January. In a speech the night before he was inaugurated, Trump explicitly thanked Infantino and FIFA for their support. Trump has even referred to Infantino as a “great friend” in the past. This friendly relationship will most likely play a role in the Trump Administration’s ideal politicization of the World Cup.
Citing safety concerns, Trump has continually floated the idea of moving World Cup games from certain cities. Using the cities of Boston–although technically games will be played in Foxborough–and Seattle as examples, Trump has not been subtle about ripping the World Cup away from these cities. Trump has openly discussed the idea to even move the 2028 Summer Olympics, currently set to be hosted in Los Angeles.
Although safety has supposedly been Trump’s primary reasoning, partisan-based economic warfare seems to be the root cause. The economic impact of the World Cup is colossal, with billions of dollars in GDP and hundreds of thousands of jobs projected to be generated by the tournament. The economic benefits the World Cup can bring to a city are immense, and that is exactly why it is an effective weapon that Trump can utilize against his political opponents. The former governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, has even stated that there will be “hell to pay” if Trump moves the World Cup out of one of the West Coast’s flagship soccer cities.
The question over whether Trump has the authority to do this has been debated in recent months. Technically, since FIFA signed contracts with these host cities years ago, Trump’s claims should fall on deaf ears. This initially seemed to be the case, as FIFA took a position that apparently denied Trump the ability to move World Cup games as he pleased. Recently, FIFA’s stance has shifted. The global soccer body stated that the U.S. government had final say on whether a host city was safe or not, and seemed to be more responsive to caving to Trump’s demands. Trump originally claimed that he would call the “phenomenal” Gianni Infantino to move the World Cup games. What seemed a bluff is now slowly turning into reality.
Whether Trump is successful in punishing mayors such as Michelle Wu and Bruce Harell remains to be seen. What is true, however, is that Trump is only growing more bold in his partisan attacks on American cities. Not only would moving the World Cup to an apparently safer city harm a city’s economy, but it would also deprive many who bought tickets the chance to witness humanity’s favorite sporting event. From Trump’s threats to the cities and Vice President JD Vance’s warning to international fans to not stay in the United States too long after the tournament’s conclusion, it is clear that the Trump Administration is applying a lot of political pressure on the World Cup. Time will tell whether that pressure plays into Trump’s favor, or backfires in the view of the public.
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