WeeklySA_AdminTENSIONS: The US and FIFA to create and to make the best show on the planet ever despite taxes charged on goods imported from co-hosts Mexico and Canada
By Sports Reporter
US President Donald Trump says the political and economic tensions between the United States and its 2026 World Cup co-hosts Canada and Mexico will be good for the tournament.
Trump has imposed tariffs – taxes charged on goods imported from other countries – on the United States’ two neighbours.
Asked how he saw the World Cup playing out, given the current trade situation between the three nations, Trump said: “I think it’s going to make it more exciting.
“Tension’s a good thing, I think it makes it much more exciting.” At the start of the week, Trump confirmed that he was moving forward with 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada.
In the days that followed, the Trump administration announced that it would be temporarily sparing carmakers from the import levies.
The next day, the president signed an executive order that placed a number of other exemptions on various goods.
Trump was speaking alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the signing of an executive order to establish a taskforce that will oversee preparations for the tournament. Trump will chair the task force, which will “co-ordinate with federal agencies in planning, organising and executing” the tournament.
Forty-eight teams will compete in the expanded World Cup in 2026. Eleven of the 16 host cities are in the United States, with Toronto and Vancouver in Canada also set to stage matches, as will Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey in Mexico.
Azteca Stadium in Mexico City will host the opening match on June 11, with the final being played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
Infantino, in a visit to The White House in Washington DC, has met the President of the United States Donald Trump and thanked him for setting a special task force to oversee preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and the FIFA World Cup 2026, saying it reaffirms the American government’s commitment to hosting the two events. During the meeting, President Trump signed the executive order to create the task force, which he will head himself and will coordinate with federal agencies to plan and execute the hosting of the tournaments which will change the face of world football.
The FIFA president also presented Trump the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 trophy, a jewel that represents the pinnacle of global club football which will be presented to the official FIFA club world champions on Sunday, July 13 in New York New Jersey.
The FIFA World Cup 26, to be co-hosted with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to 19 July 19, 2026, will be the biggest and most inclusive in the tournament’s history, with 48 teams playing 104 matches across 16 cities, which Infantino compared to staging “three Super Bowls a day” for one month.
Infantino said that the two tournaments were set to have a total economic impact in the region of USD 40 billion with 200,000 jobs created, for a tournament that will welcome over 10 million people.
There will be millions of people coming, Mr President – millions of people,” Mr Infantino said. “And, more than that, we will give joy and happiness to the entire world. And this is priceless, definitely. So, thank you, Mr President for setting up this task force because it is important that everyone that comes to America feels safe, feels welcome, and that’s why it’s important that the government puts together this White House task force, chaired by the President (of the United States) himself.”
The FIFA President added: “We are here to create and to make the best show on the planet ever. And we’ll do it together, Mr President.”
