US President Donald Trump has called on FIFA to bring the men’s World Cup back to the United States, saying the next edition hosted by the country should not be shared with Canada and Mexico.
Trump made the remarks on Friday during a FIFA World Cup reception at Trump Tower in New York ahead of Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina, where he addressed FIFA President Gianni Infantino and praised the tournament.
“You should choose the United States of America again. This time we will leave Canada and Mexico out,” Trump said.
He also suggested FIFA award the tournament to another host before returning it to the United States.
“Pick somebody else for the next one, and that will take some of the anger, hatred and steam out of everyone.”
Trump added that Infantino had floated another idea for a future tournament involving the United States and China.
“But Gianni also had another idea. He said we could do China and United States, so you have a nice short flight between games. The players would love that,” he said.
The next men’s World Cup open for bidding is the 2038 edition.
FIFA has already awarded the 2030 tournament to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to commemorate the competition’s centenary; while Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup.
Under FIFA’s hosting rotation rules, countries from North America and Oceania will be eligible to bid for the 2038 tournament, with the bidding process expected to begin years in advance.
