The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first 48-team edition of the global men’s football showpiece co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, is heading toward its July 19 decider at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, and a high-profile political figure is set to take center stage for the trophy presentation. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that former U.S. president Donald Trump, 80, will join him for the final’s trophy handoff to the tournament’s champion.
Speaking to Fox News, Infantino, who has described himself as a close personal friend of Trump, said, “We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course.” When pressed to confirm the pair would present the trophy jointly, Infantino added, “Of course, we are together all the time.”
Notably, Trump has not appeared at any World Cup match over the tournament’s first five weeks, which kicked off June 11. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, told The Daily Telegraph that Trump’s packed public schedule is the reason for his absence so far, adding that the former president prefers to “leave people watching” rather than draw attention away from matches ahead of the final.
This won’t be Trump’s first high-profile appearance at a major global sporting event hosted in the U.S. this year. Just last week, he attended a UFC event held at the White House, and earlier this month he became the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game, where he was loudly booed by the New York crowd during the national anthem at Madison Square Garden. That game saw the eventual champion New York Knicks fall 115-111 to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3.
Trump also has prior experience presenting major FIFA honours at MetLife Stadium. During last summer’s Club World Cup final, he remained on the winner’s podium after handing the trophy to Chelsea captain Reece James, catching players and organizers off guard. James later explained, “They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage and I thought that he was going to exit, but he wanted to stay.”
The 2026 World Cup, which has already drawn record crowds across the three host nations, has 78 of its total 104 matches hosted on U.S. soil, with the final capping the tournament at the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium outside New York City. Ahead of the final, the tournament has already made headlines for security operations that have seen more than 300 drones seized at U.S. match venues, alongside ongoing debate over rule changes to the expanded group stage that some argue have created unfair conditions for competing teams.