The United States will host the FIFA Club World Cup later this year as well as the FIFA World Cup 2026, which it co-organized with the neighbors of Mexico and Canada. The current political climate since the return to power of Donald Trump, however, throws a shadow on the two mega events.
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The United States of America is to put the spotlight in international football as well as in the near future by organizing some world events in the consecutive years. The United States will host the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time later this summer, and co-organized the FIFA World Cup with Mexico and Canada next year, with the largest world football event in American soil after 32 years.
America will also occupy a special place in football (or football because it is popularly known in this part of the world) by organizing extended versions of the two world events. The club World Cup had a participation in a figure in all editions, except in 2001 (12), and should be an event of 32 teams this year.
The FIFA World Cup, which was an event of 32 teams since 1998, will have 48 teams in action next year, the United States playing a crucial role by organizing a majority of matches including the final.
The two events, however, face complications due to the policies of American president Donald Trump on prices and immigration, which has caused many turbulence with regard to American foreign policy.
Why policies of the Trump administration threaten the two events of FIFA in the United States
President Trump had played concerns surrounding the club World Cup, which will take place in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13, while speaking during an event at the White House in the presence of the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.
“I think it will make him more exciting. Tension is a good thing, I think it makes him much more exciting,” Trump told journalists at the oval office.
Ticket sales for the Club World Cup, however, have been slow so far with only a few months for the tournament. The bad response of ticket sales comes at a time when the United States has experienced a significant drop in tourism this year with fewer visits to neighbors Canada and Mexico as well as the United Kingdom on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, according to Bloomberg.
Infantino, however, has played concerns about the sale of tickets and expects “complete stadiums”.
“I have no concerns about the sale of tickets. We will have complete stadiums in America,” said Infantino.
“If in America, you fill in football stadiums for friendly matches, then when you come with a World Cup and the best players to win a competition … We will have to promote it, we will have to present it, we will have to explain it to people.
“This is what we do. But it is a celebration of football and the stadiums will be full and the fans will come from all over the world,” he added.
The current political climate in the United States which could make fans think twice before booking their match and their flight tickets for the Club World Cup, and even the FIFA World Cup next year if the situation remains the same.
‘The World Loves America’: Infantino
Infantino, however, added that he had received insurance from the White House that football fans visiting the United States from other countries will not face any problem during the two World Cups.
The world chief of sport also had a meeting with the American prosecutor General Pam Bondi and the director of the FBI Kash Patel at the FIFA office in Miami to discuss security plans as well as potential visa problems for travel fans.
“The world loves America, whatever some people can say,” said Infantino.
“It is absolutely crucial that we have this collaboration. This would never have been possible a few years ago with the image that FIFA had. We came back far. Today, we are clearly working, in a transparent way, ethically.
“We are going to bring the world to the United States of America. These are the guarantees that the US government has signed at the time of the call for tenders, and reconfirmed of course. The world will be welcomed,” he added.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) had expressed similar concerns for La28 Games which will take place in Los Angeles in three years, especially after an internal memo revealed that the Trump administration “weighed radical travel restrictions”.
USOPC president Gene Sykes said he had received “important insurance” from the White House regarding visas for the 2028 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
The American Olympic organization, however, has refrained from writing a policy concerning the eligibility of transgender athletes during the preparation for the next edition of the Olympic Games in contempt of the Trump administration, which repressed Trans athletes in female sports this year.
