Soccer-Trump to attend Club World Cup final, FIFA opens office in Trump Tower
WASHINGTON/EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will attend Sunday's Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he said at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, as world soccer's ruling body FIFA announced it had opened an office in New York's Trump Tower.
The expanded tournament featuring many of the world's best club teams has been widely seen as a dry run for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico with a record 48 national teams taking part.
Sunday's Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium will be a preview of next year's championship match, with the home of the NFL's New York Jets and Giants also hosting the 2026 finale.
"I'll be going to the game," Trump told reporters.
The news came a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced the opening of a representative office at Trump Tower, where the Club World Cup trophy will be on display until the final.
"We have received such a big support from the government and from the President with the White House Task Force for the FIFA Club World Cup (now) and for the FIFA World Cup next year," Infantino said.
Trump has not shied away from sport's super-sized spotlight during his second term, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl in February, and in May announcing D.C. as the host for the 2027 NFL Draft from the Oval Office.
His immigration crackdown and travel ban on 12 countries have prompted concerns ahead of the 2026 World Cup, however, even as Infantino offered assurances that the world will be welcomed in the U.S. for the quadrennial global showpiece event.
A memo obtained by Reuters last month showed that the Trump administration was considering significantly expanding its travel restrictions by potentially banning citizens of 36 additional countries from entering the U.S.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Andrea Shalal in Washington, editing by Ed Osmond)
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