President Trump says FIFA is doing “fantastically well” in growing football in the United States, says football is getting everybody together, congratulates Chelsea
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has congratulated FIFA for helping to grow football across America.
The sport has seen enormous growth in the country since it staged the 1994 FIFA World Cup and co-hosting of the FIFA World Cup 26 with Canada and Mexico.
“They’re doing fantastically well. It’s a growing sport. It’s a great sport,” said President Trump when asked during an interview with DAZN, the FIFA Club World Cup exclusive global broadcaster, what he thought of the work FIFA was doing for football in the USA.
“I think the soccer is going to be very hot here, too. It already is. It’s gotten a lot of play [exposure] and I think with the play come the great players. I think it will do very well,” he said during the exchange which took place during the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey.
Asked what message he would send to football fans around the world, President Trump said: “It’s about unity, it’s about everybody getting together and a lot of love between countries. I guess this is probably the most international sport, so it can really bring the world together,” he said.
President Trump, who watched the final alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, has established a White House Task Force, which he heads, to ensure the smooth running of both the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and FIFA World Cup 26. “It’s a big thing. And you know, Gianni [Infantino] is a friend of mine. He’s done such a great job with the league and with soccer – or as they would call it, football, but I guess we call it soccer,” he said.
When asked, the President of the United States also referred to the popularity of the tournament among the fans, with the total attendance reaching 2.49 million, and concluding with four massive matches in the final week at the New York New Jersey venue, capped by the final which drew 81,118 people – the highest of the competition.
“I could see it,” he said in reference to one of the semi-final matches. “We flew over the stadium – it was packed. And that’s the four matches I know for this [part of the tournament]. And I think that’s fantastic. It was very impressive. Even flying over, you could see the lines of people trying to get in. It was great.”
FIFA President Infantino expressed his gratitude to the President of the United States, who also participated in the post-match trophy ceremony on the pitch at MetLife Stadium. “Big thanks to President Donald Trump, who was with us, and his entire team, who worked tirelessly to make this FIFA Club World Cup, the first ever, (and) to make it a huge success. It was great, it was fantastic, it was epic,” he said, adding his congratulations to Chelsea FC for their 3-0 win in the final.
