FIFA just made a bold move in New York, and Trump is right in the middle

With less than a year until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the United States, Mexico and Canada, FIFA is strengthening its ties with the country set to host the lion’s share of the tournament. More specifically, world football’s governing body is cozying up to both Donald Trump and the New York metropolitan area.

Trump and the FIFA World Cup

At the moment, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup semifinals are being held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey – the same venue set to host Sunday’s final, which will feature Chelsea and the winner of the Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid semifinal. The stadium has already stood out during the tournament, securing the highest number of matches overall, with nine games played there.

These Club World Cup semifinals and final, part of the first expanded edition of the tournament, are clearly being used to help New York gear up for what’s to come in 2026. The home of the New York Giants and New York Jets is scheduled to host multiple games during the World Cup and, crucially, will be the site of the final on July 19, 2026.

Trump and Infantino, still aligned

Despite ongoing turmoil surrounding Donald Trump’s immigration policies in his second presidential term, his relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino appears entirely unaffected. The clearest sign came on Tuesday, when FIFA officially opened its New York offices – choosing none other than Trump Tower in the heart of Manhattan as its new headquarters.

Infantino and Trump are clearly still playing on the same team. The move to Trump Tower may have seemed inevitable in the build-up to the World Cup, but it also serves as a strategic effort to bring football closer to New York, the city that will crown the next world champion next summer.

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