“We might just do that.” President Donald Trump smiled, nodded, and followed up: “I think we could do that.” He was responding to a reporter who suggested penning a new executive order officially renaming soccer “football” in the U.S.
Trump attended the FIFA Club World Cup final Sunday evening at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Chelsea FC trounced Paris Saint-Germain FC in what the president aptly described as “a bit of an upset.” He was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a longtime friend of his, seated in the presidential box.
“The [U.S.] is doing very well on the other stage, on the political stage, on the financial stage,” Trump told DAZN. “I was just in Saudi Arabia, I was in Qatar, I was in the UAE. Here we have Qatar, you know, the big presence they have, but you have all of the leaders and then you look at NATO, all of the leaders said ‘A year ago your country was dead, and now you have the hottest country in the world.’”
“There’s a lot of truth to that,” he added. “We were doing very badly as a country in an incompetent administration and now we have a hot country. It’s really hot. And I think the soccer is going to be hot here too.”
Trump said he took great pleasure in watching soccer boom in the U.S., with hopes it could soon match the country’s other standings on the world stage. Infantino has previously praised Trump for embracing FIFA and offering up the U.S. to host both World Cups, with the main stage tournament’s final coming to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in July 2026.
Trump cheekily added that FIFA had to make a whole new Club World Cup trophy after Infantino left it in the Oval Office in March as a gift to the president that conveniently matches his signature gilded decor.
“[Sports] is about unity, a lot of getting together, a lot of love between countries,” he said. “I guess this is probably the most international sport, so it can really bring the world together.”
Of FIFA’s star-studded lineup, Trump also said Brazilian football legend Pelé would be his personal “GOAT,” even if the choice did show his age. He noted that he was fortunate enough to see Pelé in action when he was “a young guy” and has revered the late champion ever since.
