Trump’s World Cup

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Trump’s World Cup

Today, Explained (Vox)
Air Date: January 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the political, cultural, and economic forces shaping the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in the United States. Hosts Estee Herndon and Adam Crafton (The Athletic) explore how former President Donald Trump has become closely intertwined with the tournament, the influence and motivations of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the mechanics and implications of the US’s World Cup bid, controversies over ticket pricing, immigration policy concerns, and the tournament’s significance for both soccer fans and the broader American public.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Securing the 2026 World Cup: The Bid Process

• The US, Canada, and Mexico won the right to co-host the event with a joint bid submitted during Trump’s first presidency.
  • Motivation for a joint bid: Concerns that, due to recent scandals involving the U.S. DOJ and FBI investigations into FIFA, a solo US bid may not have been successful. The joint approach with neighboring countries was viewed as a "softer landing" (03:00).
  • Trump was quick to take credit for bringing the Cup to the US, though insiders stress the collaborative and diplomatic effort required.

    “At any moment President Trump gets the opportunity to take credit for it, he will do.”
    — Adam Crafton (02:53)

  • American delegation members reportedly downplayed Trump’s rhetoric to international officials during the bid period.

    “They would be going around saying to people things like, oh, you know, Trump doesn't really mean what he's saying, or don't worry, he won't be the president by the time this comes around."
    — Adam Crafton (03:59)

2. Key Figures: Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino

• Gianni Infantino: Swiss-Italian FIFA president with a background as an outsider and bureaucrat, emerging post-2015 FIFA scandals.
  • Emphasizes his "change-maker" ethos and identifies with being bullied and marginalized as a child.

    “I know what it means to be discriminated, to be bullied as a foreigner in a foreign country.”
    — Gianni Infantino (05:01)

• Trump-Infantino Relationship: Maintained close contact through and after Trump’s presidency—a rarity as most global leaders distanced post-January 6.
  • Infantino attended Mar-a-Lago, praised Trump at Davos, and has been in the Oval Office more frequently than many foreign dignitaries.

    “Infantino has been in the Oval Office more than any foreign state leader, for example. That's extraordinary.”
    — Adam Crafton (09:01)

  • Trump reciprocated by publicly recognizing Infantino at campaign events.

    “The president of FIFA, Johnny Infantino. FIFA, FIFA. Where's Johnny? Whoa, Johnny my boy... He's big stuff.”
    — Donald Trump (08:49)

3. The FIFA Peace Prize and Political Bargaining

• FIFA Peace Prize: Created seemingly out of thin air, awarded first to Donald Trump at the Cup draw in December 2025.
  • Seen as both an appeal to Trump’s ego and a pragmatic move to ensure federal resources (such as $625 million in security funding) and smooth logistics for the event.

    “FIFA has never had a Peace Prize. Nobody has ever asked FIFA to do a Peace Prize as far as we know.”
    — Adam Crafton (10:31)

  • Outcry over FIFA being too accommodating to Trump, especially for visa concessions (“FIFA pass”) but simultaneously criticized for travel bans impacting fans from countries like Haiti, Iran, Senegal, and Ivory Coast (12:49).
  • Infantino’s public praise for Trump and overt lobbying reflect FIFA’s “go above and beyond” strategy to secure national cooperation amid fears of domestic backlash.

    "Why are we helping these guys so much? And actually, does a Peace Prize go some way to just making sure that's always on his desk and reminding him FIFA's great."
    — Adam Crafton (13:44)

4. Ticket Prices and “Local Market Conditions”

• Sky-High Prices: Massive backlash against initial ticket prices, with three original tiers for the final:
  • Category 1: $8,680
  • Category 2: $5,575
  • Category 3: $4,185

    “Category one, $8,680.”
    — Adam Crafton (20:34)

  • After criticism, a fourth $60 ticket category was introduced, but this represents only 1.6% of tickets, allocated to the most loyal fans from participating countries—not for the average American.

    “It will be only for 1.6% of tickets per game... split evenly between the two nations that are competing.”
    — Adam Crafton (21:17)

  • FIFA justifies pricing by citing “local market conditions” and “dynamic pricing” to match high US-based demand and maximize global soccer development revenue.

5. Immigration Concerns and ICE Raids

• Mixed Signals: Advocacy groups express worry over possible ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids at matches, fueled by inconsistent communication from the White House and DHS.
  • While politically unlikely that Trump would want to mar the tournament’s global image, risks remain—especially for diaspora communities and in instances of standard fan misbehavior resulting in immigration checks.

    “I think it would be politically strange for fans going to these games to be the target of raids. However, that doesn't mean there aren't people within the administration who might see it as an opportunity…”
    — Adam Crafton (22:58)

  • Concern persists over whether immigrant fans will feel safe attending matches, particularly in high-diaspora areas.

6. Why the World Cup Still Matters for America

• Despite price and political controversies, the Cup will deliver extraordinary sporting moments, multicultural spectacles, and global attention.
  • A platform for diaspora communities to “take over the streets and the beaches,” with uniquely American vibrancy.

    “It'll be a blur of kind of music and color and vibrancy and Jeopardy. All of those ingredients that you want in big sporting events.”
    — Adam Crafton (26:15)

  • For casual fans: An opportunity to witness the world’s biggest event, legendary careers’ last stands (Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi), and the US at the center of global sport.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump on Ratings:

  "You look at the numbers, nobody's ever seen anything like the kind of numbers we're doing. The early ticket sales are through the roof." (00:43)

• On Bid Diplomacy:

  “Trump was saying some pretty disparaging things about other parts of the world. You'll be shocked to hear that.”
  — Adam Crafton (03:31)

• On FIFA Politics:

  “He loves being around rich, powerful people, sees himself as this kind of head of state for soccer … the king of soccer.”
  — Adam Crafton (11:17)

• On Pricing Backlash:

  “Absolutely horrible. I don't think we're going to the World cup anymore, bro.”
  — Estee Herndon (18:14)

• On American Exceptionalism:

  “This is an event that cannot fail. Right. You know, this is an event that cannot…”
  — Adam Crafton (17:37)

• On Multicultural America:

  “You're going to have games in New Jersey where it looks like a home game for Ecuador, games in Miami where Argentina or Brazil will just fill that stadium.”
  — Adam Crafton (25:25)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• US Bid and Trump's Role: 02:19–04:34
• Infantino’s Background and FIFA’s Post-Scandal Direction: 04:34–06:19
• Trump-Infantino Relationship & Peace Prize: 06:19–11:04
• FIFA’s Political Calculus (federal funding, visas, travel bans): 11:17–13:44
• Ticket Pricing Controversy: 17:37–22:04
• Immigration Enforcement Concerns: 22:04–24:35
• Why the Cup Matters (for fans and the indifferent): 24:59–26:33

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Conclusion

The episode paints the 2026 US World Cup as a convergence of global sport and domestic politics, with deep implications for accessibility, international relations, and American multiculturalism. Trump’s desire to center himself in the narrative, Infantino’s maneuvering, FIFA’s commercial ambitions, and looming questions about inclusivity and safety make this not just a soccer story—but a distinctly American one.

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Transcript

[Estee Herndon]

The biggest sporting event in the world is coming to the U.S. no, not the Olympics. The FIFA Men's World Cup. 48 national teams, 16 host cities, and the final right here at MetLife Stadium. Now, if you're going, don't tell me because I will either die of jealousy or make a stupid financial decision. The World cup is my Super Bowl. And in fact, it's way bigger than the super bowl with nine times the global viewers. It's also expected to attract a million tourists to the US this summer. This, of course, has caught the attention of one President Trump, who is already seeking to shape the tournament in his image.

[Donald Trump]

You look at the numbers, nobody's ever seen anything like the kind of numbers we're doing. The early ticket sales are through the roof.

[Estee Herndon]

So how and why did Donald Trump come to love soccer? That's coming up on Today explained from vox.

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[Adam Crafton]

My name's Adam Crafton and I'm a reporter at the Athletic, primarily covering soccer, the business of soccer, the politics of soccer, the money of soccer, and all the stories that come with that.

[Estee Herndon]

Can you remind us just about the bidding process here? How did the US and of course Canada and Mexico in conjunction, even get these games in the first place?

[Adam Crafton]

The way it works is nations bid and they bid quite a long way out. The process for this was kind of around 2017. It was actually during Trump's first presidency.

[Donald Trump]

Well, thank you very much. We very much appreciate the fact that we have won a very important event, the World cup in 2026, and we'll be hosting it along with Mexico and Canada.

[Adam Crafton]

It's interesting to look back on because now you know at any moment President Trump gets the opportunity to take credit for it. He will do. But actually, you Know, we've reported on the athletic. Like, one of the motivating factors for joining forces was kind of this concern about whether America, the usa, could win a bid by itself. Because this was coming off the back of, if you remember, the FBI's criminal investigations into FIFA and the DOJ's involvement.

[Commercial Announcer]

We are here to announce the unsealing of charges and the arrests of individuals as part of our long running investigation into bribery and corruption in the world of organized soccer.

[Adam Crafton]

And there was this concern about whether FIFA membership, which was kind of one member, one vote across the world, would actually go for it. Just an American bid. So they joined forces with Canada and Mexico. Slightly softer, I guess, landing. And also just this feeling at the time of, you know, Trump at the time was saying some pretty disparaging things about other parts of the world. You'll be shocked to hear that.

[Estee Herndon]

You mean to tell me that Donald Trump is disparaging other countries?

[Adam Crafton]

And even during the bidding process, I spoke to people part of that bid, and they would be going around saying to people things like, oh, you know, Trump doesn't really mean what he's saying, or don't worry, he won't be the president by the time this comes around.

[Donald Trump]

So let's see, 20, 26, I won't be here. I won't be here. Maybe they'll extend the 10 because I.

[Adam Crafton]

Know they'd love to see something. And yet here we. And Trump, you know, I think Trump likes it basically because he can claim credit. He can say, I was here when we won this, I brought this, and now I'm here to deliver this.

[Estee Herndon]

Now, you know, I really want to focus on FIFA's relationship, how they've oriented themself to Donald Trump. You know, the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has become someone a kind of legend in the soccer world for both maybe good and bad reasons. You're going to help us understand a little more about him. Who is he and where did he come from?

[Adam Crafton]

So he is the son of Italian immigrants in Switzerland. As a child, they called him Piccolo, the little one, because I know what.

[Gianni Infantino]

It means to be discriminated, to be bullied as a foreigner in a foreign country. As a child at school, I was bullied because I had red hair and I had these red. How do you call them?

[Donald Trump]

Freckles.

[Gianni Infantino]

Freckles.

[Adam Crafton]

And he actually, he's got this kind of quite interesting multicultural background. As a child, you know, he's spoken about being pretty poorly and needing a blood transfusion. He was kept alive by blood from donors from England and also from Belgrade. So what's now Serbia, former Yugoslavia. And then he has this kind of story of emerging as a soccer bureaucrat. So he was originally in the legal department at the European Confederation, which is called UEFA. There's kind of six or there's the different confederations around the world. And he was there, and he was one of the beneficiaries of kind of the collapse of FIFA in 2015, 2016, because this space emerged where he was able to kind of deliver himself to be kind of like a change maker.

[Gianni Infantino]

Some people don't want change. Some people hoped maybe, well, new president. But we continue as before. Well, no, we don't continue as before.

[Estee Herndon]

Well, we have our two main characters here, then. President Trump and Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA. Can you tell me about their relationship and how it's shaping the World Cup?

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah, well, their relationship was born out of the bid, so the beard. During Trump's first presidency, Infantino kind of got himself into the Oval Office a couple of times. That was how it started. But what actually happened was, whereas a lot of people obviously turned on Trump kind of towards the end of his first presidency, and certainly after January 6th, Infantino didn't. There was no point where Infantino publicly distanced himself from Trump. He played a pretty judicious game where he kind of either because he liked Trump or because he was a smart political animal and recognized that there was a chance you might have to work with him again. He stayed close. You know, he went to Mar A.

[Estee Herndon]

Lago when Trump was out of office.

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah, he maintained that relationship. And actually, there was a pretty memorable moment at Davos. This was when I think Trump was still in power. But it was the week where the ground rules were being laid for the Senate's, I think, the first impeachment hearing. And it was around that time. And Infantino actually introduced Trump to speak at Davos and spoke about him in these glowing terms, described him as a fighter, almost like a gladiator. Compared him to one of the great soccer players.

[Gianni Infantino]

I am lucky enough in my life to come across some of the most talented athletes in soccer. And President Trump is made of the same style, sort of fiber.

[Adam Crafton]

And I think Trump, you know, whatever people think of him, he's clearly someone who remembers those who are loyal to him.

[Estee Herndon]

Yep.

[Adam Crafton]

And doesn't like those who turn on him. And when Trump was then out of office, FIFA found it really difficult to penetrate the White House. You know, there was no picture with Joe Biden in the Oval Office. There was no even Visit to the Oval Office for Infantino during that time and FIFA were finding it hard to get stuff done during that period. And then when Trump wins power last November, Infantino is immediately on the front foot, I mean like on Instagram every other day, praising Trump. What a fantastic victory. He went to his pre inauguration rally and Trump would like keep name checking him at these events.

[Donald Trump]

The president of FIFA, Johnny Infantino. FIFA, FIFA. Where's Johnny? Whoa, Johnny my boy. I didn't know he was going to be here. He's big stuff.

[Adam Crafton]

And it was pretty odd, like for those of us who have followed Infantino as a job, kind of this like soccer bureaucrat to all of a sudden see him, you know, basically being on first name terms with the US President. Infantino has been in the Oval Office more than any foreign state leader, for example. That's extraordinary.

[Estee Herndon]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Say that again. I want to make sure I got that right. He's been in the Oval Office more than anything other foreign state leader, any other kind of dignitary, you know, he's, he, I mean at this point it seems as if he's like, you know, top of the list of Trump allies.

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah, I mean like if you think of like at least in public appearances, you know, like where you see those kind of joint Oval Office affairs, like the one that for example, Mamdani had with Trump in the Oval Office, there's been like several of those with Trump and Infantino. So you know, he has gone above and beyond before for host nations. But I think what we're seeing now with Trump, I mean, certainly with the Peace Prize is kind of another level.

[Estee Herndon]

You mentioned the Peace Prize. Can you explain that? What is this Peace Prize?

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah. So at the FIFA World cup draw at the start of December, Donald Trump was presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.

[Gianni Infantino]

Please welcome the very first winner of, of the FIFA Peace Prize, the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump.

[Adam Crafton]

FIFA has never had a Peace Prize. Nobody has ever asked FIFA to do a Peace Prize as far as we know. And the background of this is earlier in autumn 2025, a kind of unofficial campaign kind of coming out of the White House and outriders of the White House started to suggest that President Trump should be winning the Nobel Peace Prize. And actually the day before the Peace Prize was announced, of course, the day before Infantino goes out on Instagram and actually says President Trump deserves it.

[Estee Herndon]

I mean, there's no reason for the President of FIFA to be kind of inherently be making These declarations about who deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Why is Infantino going out on a limb in this way?

[Adam Crafton]

There's a few theories on this. The first is just Infantino loves it, right? He loves being around rich, powerful people, sees himself as this kind of head of state for soccer, if you like, the king of soccer. The second view is there is a pragmatic need for FIFA to go above and beyond, right? And maybe they just think this is what we need to do to make sure we get what we need. And there are things that FIFA need. So the host cities, the 11 host cities in this state had needed 625 million, I should say, worth of federal security funding for the tournament. Now, in normal circumstances, you would say this is an international, global event. Of course the federal government's going to provide that. But actually, you don't quite know if they provide that, right? So they got that. They got that through recently. And, you know, amid all the immigration policies that have been going on, FIFA secured what has been called a FIFA pass, which means that if you have bought a ticket for the World cup, you will get an appointment wherever you are in the world for a visa interview in your country. They're saying, within six to eight weeks. So there are these kind of concessions that FIFA have got. But at the same time, you now have four nations, Haiti, Iran, Senegal, Ivory coast, whose countries have travel bans which mean their fans can't travel to the tournament. So there's some wins and there's some losses. But I think FIFA are wary of. At some point, someone in the White House might turn around, look at FIFA and say, hang on. They are a kind of a global organization. You know, if I'm thinking in, like, MAGA speak here, a kind of global organization that get tax breaks from America, that get all this revenue from putting on a tournament on our soil. What? And we're not getting a cut of the ticket revenue, of the parking revenue, of the broadcast, the sponsorship? Why are we helping these guys so much? And actually, does a Peace Prize go some way to just making sure that's always on his desk and reminding him FIFA's great.

[Estee Herndon]

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[Adam Crafton]

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[Estee Herndon]

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[Adam Crafton]

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[Donald Trump]

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[Estee Herndon]

Go.

[Adam Crafton]

Oh.

[Estee Herndon]

It'S today Explained. We're back with Adam Crafton of the Athletic.

[Adam Crafton]

I spoke to someone who works for FIFA the other day who said to me, like. And they were very much speaking in a personal capacity, I should say, but they were basically saying, you know, despite our best efforts to fuck things up and bleep me out there, the games and the jeopardy mean this is an event that cannot fail. Right. You know, this is an event that cannot.

[Estee Herndon]

The drama's built in.

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah. Now this time around, what's different is the prices. Yeah.

[Commercial Announcer]

FIFA fans say World cup ticket prices are a monumental betrayal.

[Adam Crafton]

Just reading into the ticket prices for the World cup next year.

[Estee Herndon]

Horrible.

[Adam Crafton]

Absolutely horrible.

[Estee Herndon]

I don't think we're going to the World cup anymore, bro.

[Donald Trump]

It's just not happening.

[Estee Herndon]

You know what?

[Adam Crafton]

Screw FIFA.

[Commercial Announcer]

This is exactly. I knew this was going to happen.

[Estee Herndon]

Their nonsense about all these pre sales.

[Commercial Announcer]

And, yeah, we're going to take care of our fans, blah, blah, blah. No, you're not.

[Estee Herndon]

No, you're not.

[Adam Crafton]

FIFA have come to North America and to the States in particular, and they have adapted to. What is their new favorite word? Their new favorite phrase, I should say, which is local market conditions. Right. And local market conditions for premium sports events are really, really expensive. Really expensive. And they also have dynamic pricing.

[Estee Herndon]

Well, let's slow down and define these phrases. I mean, this World cup has an expanded number of teams, so theoretically you would think that this would mean it would give Americans more opportunities to go the games. What you're laying out here is that the conditions for these World cup prices are different because of two things. Local market conditions and things called dynamic pricing. Can you define those for us?

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah. So the local market conditions are that basically premium sports events and entertainment events in the United States are expensive.

[Estee Herndon]

They said, hey, they pay a lot of money over here, so we're going to charge them a lot of money.

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah, I think they probably looked at America as a little bit of an atm, you know, to be honest. And, you know, their argument would be, you know, if there's people who are prepared to pay that we can then take those revenues, distribute them all around the world to all the national federations and, you know, develop soccer in parts of the world that requires it. So the reason, though, why the prices have started high and I think are going to stay high here is because it's so spread around a massive country. Even though there's more games than ever, 104 games across the three countries, each region doesn't have that many games. You know, there's like eight. I think it's seven or eight games in New York. Right. That's not that many people to actually be able to go to games. When you bring in diasporas and when you bring in travelers from outside of the country, and that creates this incredible demand.

[Estee Herndon]

Can we put some numbers on it? Like, what are we talking about in terms of the early run of ticket prices that we've seen? Is this like, NFL ticket level? Are we talking about super bowl ticket prices? Like, what's the numbers?

[Adam Crafton]

Well, I guess, you know, the super bowl comparison would be the final. Right. So the prices released by FIFA a couple of weeks ago, three categories. Category one, $8,680.

[Estee Herndon]

Oh, I'm already out.

[Adam Crafton]

Right. Category two, $5,575. Category three, $4,185. However, since then, there has been such a strong backlash that they have now introduced basically a fourth category of $60 tickets.

[Commercial Announcer]

FIFA just announced it's slashing the price of some World cup tickets for teams most loyal fans.

[Adam Crafton]

The organization says a $60 ticket option.

[Estee Herndon]

Will be made available for every game.

[Adam Crafton]

At the in North America, which will be only for 1.6% of tickets per game, but for every game. But those tickets won't be for your casual fan in America. They will be given. They will be split evenly between the two nations that are competing to the federations of those nations. So say, for example, the final is England against Brazil. 0.8% of those tickets will be given to the English federation to distribute to their most loyal fans. That is the fans who have been to every qualification game in Albania, Serbia, blah, blah, blah, during. During the qualification, and the same to Brazil. But that's kind of as good as it gets.

[Estee Herndon]

You know, we focused on ticket prices, but I also want to ask about other complicating factors when we think about next summer. What about the mixed messages we've seen from the White House and DHS when it comes to the prospect of ice raids at the World cup matches. Is that a legitimate possibility?

[Adam Crafton]

Yeah, I mean, this is an area where I'm really cautious of, like, minimizing or downplaying what the risks are because ultimately, like, I can't tell people ice aren't going to do stuff. U.S. customs and Border Protection suggested in a social media post earlier this month they'd be present at this summer's FIFA Club World cup games. Now, that post has since been deleted.

[Donald Trump]

Concerns for FIFA fans as we count down to the 2026 World cup, immigrant advocates are calling on the organization to use its influence to protect fans from ICE agents.

[Adam Crafton]

Look, I think there is a desire within the administration for this tournament to project very well on America. And I think if you look at President Trump as someone who sees the world through ratings and a little bit of vanity. Yeah, he knows the World cup has a huge global audience. That's why he wants to be involved in it. He has the vanity of saying, I delivered this thing. So he wants it to go well because it came in his first term. Therefore, I think it would be politically strange for fans going to these games to be the target of raids. However, that doesn't mean there aren't people within the administration who might see it as an opportunity or a good idea. And it also won't mean that there could be events that take place through kind of normal actions of soccer fans that lead to arrest. You know, whether it's, I don't know, a fight breaks out or a bit of hooliganism or people drink too much.

[Estee Herndon]

One thing soccer fans are gonna do.

[Adam Crafton]

You know, like, people drink too much. And the disturbances and then following arrests, there could then be checks on papers and. Do you have your papers? And ice. There will be big diaspora attendances at these games. I think of games like Ecuador playing Germany at MetLife Stadium, huge Ecuadorian diaspora will make that stadium look like a home game. Now, does that make those fans more reluctant to go to games? I don't know.

[Estee Herndon]

Let's say I don't care about soccer at all. Let's say I am your classic American sports ingestor. And it's all existed as kind of like Euro foul ridiculousness to me. And I'm hearing about this World cup coming next summer, but I don't fully know what it means. Is there a case of why this event will still be something worth following?

[Adam Crafton]

Okay, so if I'm giving the pitch on why, this could be fantastic, Right? If I think of what Americans get excited about when it comes to sport, it's moments and it's characters. So you're going to have these moments that a World cup always produces because there's going to be so much jeopardy on the field. You'll have penalty shootouts, you'll have, you know, big nations going out possibly quite early, who knows? But you're also going to have this real jeopardy of major names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi having their final tournaments. You're going to have Mo Salah being there with Egypt. And I also think from an American perspective, it is one of those times where the multiculturalism and the diasporas of the United States can produce really fabulous moments. You're going to have games in New Jersey where it looks like a home game for Ecuador, games in Miami where Argentina or Brazil will just fill that stadium. And the blur of color that you will see. These fans will take over the beaches, they'll take over the street. I sound like Trump now. They're going to take over the streets and the beaches, but in a positive way. It'll be a blur of kind of music and color and vibrancy and Jeopardy. All of those ingredients that you want in big sporting events. That's what the hope is.

[Estee Herndon]

Adam Crafton, reporter at the Athletic Today's show was produced by Dustin Desoto and edited by Aminah Alsadi with some help from Jolie Myers, Patrick Boyd and Bridger Dunigan Engineered Andrea Lopez Cruzado and Laura Bullard fact checked the show. This is actually the last show that Laura will be fact checking. We will miss her but can't wait to have her back as a reporter guest on the show. I'm Esteed Herndon. This is Today, explained.

[Adam Crafton]

Sam.