President Donald Trump announced that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“The World Cup draw will set up the group stage of competition. Forty-eight teams will play in 104 games across 16 North American cities, from Seattle to Vancouver to Atlanta to Miami. It’s going to be so exciting for our country,” Trump said. “The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be one of the largest and most complex events. This will be one of the greatest events, one of the largest. In a way, it’s like having many Super Bowls in a short period of time because each one of these games essentially is a Super Bowl. Some of them are bigger than Super Bowls, actually.”
“Already, FIFA is projecting 6 million loyal fans will attend the World Cup events next year, and 6 billion more are gonna be watching back home,” the president said, adding that the events will “drive more than $30 billion into the U.S. economy and create 185,000 American jobs.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino added, “We are uniting the world, Mr. President, uniting the world here, in America. And we’re very proud of that.”
Infantino presented the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy to President Trump, saying, “It’s for winners only — and since you are a winner, of course you can as well touch it.”
Trump announced a task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in March. The White House said at the time that the task force “will facilitate comprehensive planning, organization, and execution of the largest sporting events in the history of mankind.”
“Through interagency cooperation, information sharing, and strategic support, the Task Force aims to ensure the successful hosting of world-class international events that reflect the values, security, and hospitality of the United States of America,” the White House said.
