U.S. President Donald Trump set up a task force on Friday to prepare for the 2026 World Cup football game, which will bring the world's premier football tournament to North America, when his increasing, constantly involved tariffs have exacerbated tensions across the continent.
“I think that will make it even more exciting,” Trump played the World Cup in hosting sharp rhetoric among national leaders. “Nervous is a good thing.”
The task force Trump will chair will coordinate federal government security and plans for the tournament, which is expected to attract thousands of tourists to the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“It's a great honor for our country,” Trump said of the World Cup after meeting with officials from the international football governing body FIFA, who said he wanted to compete in multiple games.
Preparations across the continent are intensifying as Trump repeatedly threatens to impose tariffs, amid retreat, scare markets and lead to fears of a trade war and economic downturn.
He also spoke derogatoryly about Canada's becoming an American state to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which made the country proud north of the border.
In 2026, the World Cup will expand to 48 teams participating in 104 games in three countries, the first time it will be played between countries. The United States will play 78 of 74 games in the United States, with 13 games a day in Mexico and Canada, with up to 6 games a day. The final will be held on July 19 at Metropolitan Life Stadium in New Jersey.
Get national news
For news that affects Canada and around the world, please sign up for breaking news alerts that were sent directly to you at that time.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the task force will ensure that every visitor who will travel from around the world “feel safe, happy, and feel that we are doing something special”.
“So we're here to create and make the best performances on the planet,” Infantino said. He gave Trump a personalized game goal and unveiled a sophisticated trophy that will win the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will beat the top football clubs against each other next summer before next national team showdown.
Trump later brought iftantino to show off his trophy at the beginning of the White House cryptocurrency summit. He said football’s popularity grew, but remains a niche sport, which represents the main area of growth for football.
Infantino likens production of the World Cup to holding three Super Bowls a day, a month that is a dazzling security and logistical challenge to the host government.
The Trump administration will test the second time on the global sports stage in 2028, when the Summer Olympics will be held in California, the first time that the Olympics have been held in the United States since the 2002 Salt Lake City was held.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
