Next year\u2019s World Cup will take place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico
\n WASHINGTON
\nUS President Donald Trump has revealed that the draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington this December.
\nStanding alongside FIFA chief Gianni Infantino at the White House, Trump described the tournament as \u201cprobably the biggest event in sports\u201d and even joked about wanting to keep the golden trophy for himself.
\nThe announcement confirmed that the Kennedy Center in the US capital will host the ceremony on December 5.
\nThe draw for the 48-team football championship will be held at the Kennedy Center in the US capital, where Trump recently installed himself as chairman in what he called a war on \u201cwoke\u201d culture.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports,\u201d Trump, flanked by FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, said as he made the announcement in the Oval Office of the White House.
\nThe 2026 World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next year, and Trump has made a big deal about it happening during his presidency.
\nInfantino, who has fostered close ties with the billionaire US president, brought the World Cup with him for the announcement and even let Trump get his hands on it.
\n\u201cOnly the FIFA president, presidents of countries, and then those who win can touch it, because it\u2019s for winners only. And since you are a winner, of course you can as well touch it,\u201d Infantino said.
\n\u201cCan I keep it?\u201d replied Trump, who won a second term in the White House last year, as he lifted the trophy with both hands.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s a beautiful piece of gold.\u201d
\nTrump appeared to be joking \u2014 although the separate FIFA Club World Cup trophy remains in the Oval Office more than a month after English side Chelsea won it in New Jersey last month.
\nPutin \u2018may be coming and he may not\u2019
\nThere was a brief moment of nerves as Trump appeared to fumble the World Cup before placing it on his desk \u2014 as Infantino reached out a hand to steady it.
\nInfantino later presented the US leader with a giant ticket \u2014 Row 1 Seat 1 \u2014 for the World Cup final on July 19 at the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, just outside New York.
\nTrump also suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend the World Cup.
\nHolding up a photo that he said Putin had sent him after their summit in Alaska last week, Trump said the Kremlin chief \u201cwants to be there very badly,\u201d but that he \u201cmay be coming and he may not\u201d depending on the outcome of Ukraine peace efforts.
\nThe United States was named as a joint host of the 2026 World Cup during Trump\u2019s first term as president in 2018. He lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden but won a second term last year.
\nSince his return to power, Trump has launched a major crackdown on immigration, but he said it would be \u201cvery easy\u201d for most World Cup fans to get a visa.
\nFor visitors from some countries, it would be \u201cobviously a little bit more difficult,\u201d said Trump, who has banned all travellers from 12 nations including Afghanistan, Haiti and Iran.
\n\u2018Trump-Kennedy Center\u2019
\nThe World Cup draw was reportedly due to be held in Las Vegas but the new venue has more political overtones.
\nTrump led a takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year, saying that the venerable performing arts venue named after late Democratic president John F. Kennedy had become too \u201cwoke.\u201d
\nHe added on Friday as he made the announcement that \u201csome people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we\u2019re not prepared to do that quite yet, maybe in a week or so.\u201d
\nTrump visited the Kennedy Center just before the Oval Office announcement on Friday. He has said he is going to make major improvements to \u201cbeautify\u201d it, including adding marble cladding.
\nThe US president also hailed a major federal crime crackdown in Washington that has seen US National Guard troops deployed on the streets of the capital.
\nTrump said the move would make Washington safe for football fans visiting the city during next year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Next year\u2019s World Cup will take place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump has revealed that the draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington this December. Standing alongside FIFA chief Gianni Infantino at the White House, Trump described the tournament as \u201cprobably the biggest event […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-498665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n