"We will have a great FIFA World Cup"- FIFA president Gianni Infantino congratulates Donald Trump on 2024 U.S. election win
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has congratulated Donald Trump on his victory in the 2024 U.S. election after he defeated Democrat candidate Kamala Harris in the presidential race. Infantino took to social media to congratulate the United States president-elect and expressed his anticipation of a great FIFA World Cup.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, making it the first time that the competition will be played in North America since 1994. The tournament will fall under Donald Trump's second tenure as the American president.
Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump have a good relationship, having met multiple times during the latter’s first tenure in the presidency to discuss the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After Donald Trump was declared the winner in the presidential race, Infantino took to his Instagram to congratulate the Republican candidate on his victory. He wrote:
''Congratulations Mr President! We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the 🇺🇸 United States of America! Football Unites the World!"
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will debut the new format with 48 teams taking part. Thus, the group stage will not feature the usual eight groups of four teams, but 12 groups of four teams.
When the Donald Trump administration assured FIFA that there would be no travel discrimination to the USA for the 2026 World Cup
Back in 2018, when Donald Trump was serving as the 45th President of the United States, his administration promised football's governing body that there would be no discrimination around entry to the United States for the 2026 World Cup.
During his first term in office, Trump attempted to impose restrictions on residents of six majority-Muslim countries attempting to travel to the USA.
According to Sports Illustrated, an independent human rights report warned that citizens from certain countries could be restricted from traveling to the USA. The American government, under Trump’s administration, in response, stated:
“All eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination.”