(Dec 5): US President Donald Trump’s team is grappling with how to welcome the world for next year’s World Cup as he battles with countries — including co-hosts in Canada and Mexico — over his America First policies.
Trump’s preparations for hosting the world’s most popular sporting event are reaching a key milestone on Friday with the tournament draw, a glitzy ceremony in which match-ups will be chosen that also serves as a televised celebration of global football.
That spirit is colliding with Trump’s migrant crackdown — featuring masked agents rounding up people in aggressive, public operations — as well as with stricter visa rules, which have created concerns about the ability of international fans, players and staff to attend.
Trade tensions with Ottawa and Mexico City have further cast a cloud over an event that was supposed to embody North American integration. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to attend even as negotiations over North American trade have stalled for weeks as Trump has recently insinuated he could withdraw from a joint pact with the countries.
Hanging over the festivities is Trump, who has thrust himself into the centre of efforts to promote the Cup even though he’s deeply unpopular in many foreign countries.
“We have suggested that Qatar was probably the most politically charged sporting event in history of the world; I am not sure that 2026 will be any less politically charged,” said Tim Elcombe, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario who studies the intersection of sports and international affairs.
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In seeking to assuage those fears, Trump administration officials have landed on a somewhat sobering tone: come to the US and enjoy the game, but you will face the consequences if you overstay your welcome.
“We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they will have to go home,” Vice President JD Vance said in May, adding that “otherwise, they will have to talk to Secretary Noem,” referring to the Homeland Security chief who oversees Trump’s deportation agenda.
Vance’s line elicited laughter from White House officials at the time, but it reflects the geopolitical tensions shadowing the first World Cup being held on US soil in three decades. How the administration navigates these controversies, some of its own creation, will help decide whether the tournament will be seen as a success.
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“The US has never been more respected or successful than it is now under President Trump’s historic leadership,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle. “America is the hottest country in the world right now, which makes us the perfect country to host one of the greatest sporting events in history — the Fifa World Cup 2026.”
Trump has sought to put his mark on the tournament, even down to the draw site. The president had a hand in moving the event from Las Vegas to Washington’s Kennedy Center so that he could attend, according to a White House official. Trump pushed out the leadership of the storied cultural hub earlier this year and installed himself as its chair.
Preparations being made as the Fifa World Cup 2026 final draw signage was displayed outside the Kennedy Center in Washington on Thursday.
The draw also doubles as an opportunity to reorient trade talks, though North American leaders are not expecting a dedicated dialogue on the issue, according to one person familiar with the planning.
Trump has raised the prospect of abandoning the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement that he negotiated during his first term by next summer, and instead brokering separate pacts with each country. Officials are preparing to review the deal ahead of a July deadline, injecting further uncertainty into the three countries’ relationship.
While Trump has previously downplayed the notion that trade brinkmanship with Canada and Mexico would sully the tournament, in March he allowed that “it’s going to make it more exciting”.
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“Tension is a good thing,” he said.
Trump set up a White House World Cup task force designed to coordinate with government agencies about tournament planning, a group that is stocked with the president’s allies. Executive director Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, has his own staff at the Department of Homeland Security — including a handful of military members — and a direct line to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Giuliani holds a weekly call with host-city chief executive officers, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, serves a similar role for the task force. White House deputy chief of staff Nicholas Luna has facilitated the meetings.
The president has said the US will facilitate travel requirements for World Cup teams and fans, including by creating a priority visa system for the large number of ticket holders expected. The issue is one of the most complex challenges facing organisers, with some of the millions of fans crossing in and out of all three countries to attend matches. Infantino announced last week that two million tickets have been sold, with the US driving the most purchases.
There have also been discussions about launching a messaging campaign featuring prominent former soccer players promoting the US as a welcoming place, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Critics have expressed concerns that Trump’s hardline policies on immigration and crime will dampen overall interest in coming to the US, an outcome that would sow doubt over whether the event will be the economic impact generator it was promised.
Trump in October threatened to move World Cup games out of the Boston area, citing the mayor’s crime policies, even though the matches are not being played in the city itself.
“Any kind of uncertainty, cultural or political or commercial, it creates challenges for Fifa” in the planning, said Martin Conway, a Georgetown University adjunct professor who specialises in global sports business. “In this case, you may have people from other countries decide, I am not coming to the US.”
Trump this week vowed to tighten immigration restrictions even further after the shooting of two National Guard members that prosecutors said was carried out by an Afghan national, including by “permanently” pausing migration from “all third-world countries”.
Two of the countries participating in the World Cup — Iran and Haiti — are subject to a travel ban to the US. While the ban states that there would be some exceptions, including members of an athletic team, coaches and immediate relatives, it does not appear to apply to fans from those countries.
Iran had threatened to boycott Friday’s draw because of the limited number of visas given to its delegation, but ultimately decided to attend, reported Reuters, citing media accounts.
Geoff Freeman, the chief executive officer of the US Travel Association, commended the administration for taking steps to reduce visa wait times and simplify international travel but said “we still have more work to do” to signal “America is open for business”.
“There has been a perception created around the world, in many instances, that we may not be as welcoming,” Freeman said in an interview.
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