President Donald Trump said during Friday’s World Cup draw that soccer should be America’s true “football” and that the NFL should find another name for the sport.
Trump joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., ahead of the draw for the group stages of the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the three countries.
“But when you look at what’s happened in U.S. Soccer, U.S. Soccer… we never seemed to call it [soccer] Because we’re kind of in conflict with another thing called football,” Trump said. “But when you think about it, it really shouldn’t be called that… It’s football, there’s no doubt about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL. When you think about it, it really doesn’t make sense. “
Subsequently, the three heads of state participated in the grouping ceremonies of their respective countries. The U.S. team will be in Group D, the Canadian team in Group B, and the Mexican team in Group A. The opening game of this tournament will be held in Mexico City on June 11.
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Earlier in the show, Infantino presented the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to his “close friend” Trump.
FIFA announced the award in November. The award has not been approved by FIFA’s governing body, but Infantino is focused on awarding it to Trump after the US president missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this year.
