World Cup draw starts countdown to 2026 finals with Trump presiding
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The countdown to the first 48-team World Cup begins in earnest on Friday as the draw for the 2026 finals takes place in Washington.
WASHINGTON (United States) (AFP) – The countdown to the first 48-team World Cup begins in earnest on Friday as the draw for the 2026 finals takes place in Washington, with Donald Trump set to dominate much of the attention.
The most logistically complex World Cup in history will be held across North America from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in Qatar in 2022.
Friday's ceremony, at the Kennedy Center on the banks of the Potomac River, will be a star-studded event but Trump will take centre stage.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has developed a close relationship with Trump, including making several visits to the White House.
Now the US President is widely expected to be the first ever recipient of the FIFA Peace Prize, which will be awarded during the draw ceremony, "to recognize the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations," as Infantino put it.
Even the choice of draw venue is a nod to Trump, who earlier this year installed himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center, a performing arts venue opened in the early 1970s.
Holding the draw there also means the US capital gets to play an active role in the World Cup itself having been overlooked as a match venue.
The ceremony will be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and American actor and comedian Kevin Hart, and will feature performances by Village People, Andrea Bocelli and Robbie Williams.
NFL legend Tom Brady, ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and former NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal will be among the stars helping to conduct the draw.
Trump has made the World Cup a centerpiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.
But he has not hesitated to inject domestic politics into the preparations, threatening to move World Cup matches from Democratic-run cities if he deems conditions to be "unsafe".
"I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who's phenomenal, and I would say, let's move it to another location. And he would do that," Trump said recently.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will also be in attendance at the ceremony.
Eleven of the 16 World Cup venues are in the United States, with three in Mexico and two in Canada.
