Remarks During a Meeting of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 and an Exchange with Reporters

The President. Well, thank you very much, everybody. And I just presented Gianni with the charter. And the charter is a very big deal. Just signed it.

And, Gianni, I want to congratulate you and your sport and FIFA for the great success of what we're going to be doing together. Very special. Very small signature. That one got big. That means, I guess, I like the event even more so than usual.

But I want to thank you all. And welcome to the first meeting of the White House FIFA Task Force. I'm thrilled to be joined today by Vice President J.D. Vance—thank you, J.D.; FIFA president Gianni Infantino; FIFA Senior Adviser Carlos Cordeiro; and CEO of Fox Sports, Eric Shanks.

Where's Eric? Where is Eric Shanks? Hello, Eric. Well, you've got a pretty good seat. I don't know. That's not bad. [Laughter] I'm looking for you at this table. You should be at this table. Hi, Eric.

Along with members of my Cabinet, Scott Bessent, Pam Bondi, Howard Lutnick, Sean Duffy, Kristi Noem, Russ Vought, Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau, and Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg.

I also want to welcome two of my very good friends, Bernard Arnault and Alex Arnault. It's—they own a little company around the world. One of their smaller companies is Tiffany.

And Tiffany made the beautiful trophy. And I guess it's around here someplace—not this one, the other one, wherever it may be.

Vice President James D. "J.D." Vance. Right behind you, sir.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) President Giovanni V. Infantino. Here it is.

The President. There it is, behind me. And it's really a work of art.

But I want to just welcome Bernard and Alex. Where are you? Where are you?

Mr. Infantino. There.

The President. Okay, good. They have no lack of cash. I know that. [Laughter] They're great—and they're great people. We've been friends for a long time. Thank you very much for being here. It's a great honor to have you both.

We're also joined by Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Todd Young. Where are they? Where are they? Hi, Shelley. How are you? Hi, Todd. How you doing? You're getting younger looking, Todd, I'll tell you. He's pretty young to start off with, right?

Oh, you too.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito. Thank you.

The President. She said—[laughter]—she said: "What about me? What are"—you too. Even more so, Todd, right?

That's very cute.

Representatives Damin [Darin; White House correction] LaHood and Bryan Steil. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, fellas. Thank you. Good.

FBI Director Kash Patel, who's doing a fantastic job. Thank you very much, Kash. Appreciate it.

And our Executive Director, Andrew Giuliani. Just got the post, and he's going to be great. I know him for a long time. He's a highly competitive golfer, which—I mean, really good—and he's also a highly competitive person, and he loves what we're doing. So, I want to congratulate you and your family and your father—your great father, who was the greatest mayor in the history of New York. So I want to congratulate the family.

It's a big—it's a big post. You'd better do well, Andrew. [Laughter] Tell them. Is my golf game okay too?

Executive Director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 Andrew Giuliani. Fantastic.

The President. I'll tell—he knew what to say. See? [Laughter] Well, he's a smart person. That's why I appointed him.

Together, this group will help plan the biggest, safest, and most extraordinary soccer tournament in history. And that's what it's going to be, Gianni.

In my first term, I negotiated the return of the World Cup to America. And now, in my second term, I'll have the honor of hosting the World Cup for the first time of any President in more than 30 years.

And remember, we also have a few other events. I must tell you that we have the 2028 Olympic Games. We have the 250-year celebration of America. That's a big one. I don't know. Maybe that's the biggest. I don't know. That could be the biggest. But that's going to be unbelievable. That's going to be—essentially, Todd, that's going to be a yearlong celebration.

We have the G–20. And that will be in December of '26. We have the G–7—used to be the G–8, by the way. And that's in 2027.

And that's a lot of action we have going for the next 4 years—3½ years. It's truly—it's going to be amazing for the country, I believe.

Starting this June, the United States will host the 2025 Club World Cup, which will feature 32 elite soccer clubs from all over the world competing in 63 matches across 11 American cities, including Cincinnati, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina—Charlotte, North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; Nashville, Tennessee; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

So we have it in 11 American cities, all over. And these are great cities too, and they like soccer more and more. I guess that some of those cities in—specifically, they really love it.

And next summer, we'll host the official 2026 World Cup tournament, where 48 national teams will compete in 78 matches right here in the USA. And that will be something very, very different and very special.

These events will attract millions of passionate fans around the world, including my son. I have a son that loves soccer: Barron. Nobody's ever heard of Barron, right? Have you ever heard of Barron? [Laughter] He's a good soccer player too. He's a little tall for soccer, but that's okay.

And over 1 billion viewers. You're going to have one of the big—I guess, one of the biggest viewerships of any sport of—at any time.

This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase the beauty and the greatness of America, and we can't wait to welcome soccer fans from all over the globe.

I don't know if I'm supposed to say "soccer" or "football," because every time I say "soccer," Barron and Eric say: "You're really saying it wrong. It's supposed to be 'football.'" But we know it more as soccer.

These events will also generate tens of billions of dollars in economic activity for local businesses and create thousands and thousands of jobs for American workers.

I've directed my entire team to do everything within our power to make the World Cup an unprecedented success, and that's what it's going to be. We're going to make sure of it.

The State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and every part of the U.S. Government will be working to ensure that these events are safe and successful and those traveling to America to watch the competition have a seamless experience during every part of their visit. It's going to be very special.

Together, we will ensure that the 2026 World Cup will be the best run soccer tournament the world has ever seen. This is going to blow every other tournament you did. You're going to be say—you're going to say how terrible a job you did in the past because this is so much better, Gianni. [Laughter] This is going to blow them all away. I don't want to insult my other friends from other countries, but we're going to blow them away, right?

So now I'd like to introduce—and he has been a friend of mine. We fought very hard to get the event, and I think before the media came in, I said that it—I was very disappointed, because I got the event, Gianni. I think we can say that strongly. And then I said it won't be in my term, and I won't be able to see it. And then bad things happened with the election, and now we do see it. So I just repeat that because—for the press to hear. I'm sure they're thrilled to hear it.

But I'd like to ask FIFA President Gianni Infantino, really one of the most powerful men in sports—it's amazing, because you've done such an incredible job with soccer—followed by Vice President J.D. Vance, then Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary Sean Duffy, to say a few words.

So, Gianni, and then we'll go in that order.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Mr. Infantino. Well, thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, members of the Cabinet, members of the Task Force—the White House task force—for this incredible event—or events, actually, which will be happening here in America in the year to come.

We were actually, Mr. President, so happy that the World Cup 2026 will take place in the United States—and Canada and in Mexico—that we thought we'll actually bring another World Cup as well here. So you get two World Cups in the next year.

The new FIFA Club World Cup—this is the trophy of the new FIFA Club World Cup.

The President. Did you notice the way he said that? "In the United States—Canada, Mexico." [Laughter] That's the way it's supposed to be.

I had to interrupt. I'm sorry. Go ahead.

Mr. Infantino. No, well——

The President. It's true.

Mr. Infantino. Seventy-eight games will take place over the World Cup in the United States out of the 104 games.

But the Club World Cup, this year, is a new competition—will take place in the United States, in 11 cities of the United States. It's new. It will make history.

[At this point, Mr. Infantino continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]

So, in 40 days, less than—a bit less than 40 days, on the 14th of June in Miami, we will open the FIFA Club World Cup—opening game. The final, on the 13th of July in New York, New Jersey. And in between, 63 top games of the best players, of the best clubs in the world who want to win this trophy here, crafted by Tiffany.

And I'm thanking as well the Arnault family for being here. They are in soccer as well. Now, in Paris, they have just been promoted——

The President. They're in everything. They're in everything.

Mr. Infantino. ——to the top division. So congratulations for that.

Actually, Mr. President, "soccer" or "football," maybe we can clarify that here.

The President. I'll do whatever you want.

Mr. Infantino. Let me give it a try, if I may. So we—basically, everyone outside of this beautiful country, we call football a game we play with our feet.

The President. Right. Right. [Laughter]

Mr. Infantino. That's why they call it "football."

The President. Makes sense.

Mr. Infantino. Makes sense.

The President. It makes a lot of sense.

Mr. Infantino. You, in this beautiful country, you call football a game you play with your hands. Right? [Laughter]

The President. That's right. That's right.

Mr. Infantino. So I don't know who's right or—but——

The President. That's right.

Mr. Infantino. ——the important, Mr. President, whether we call it soccer or football, is that we have fun——

The President. That's great.

Mr. Infantino. ——that we enjoy. And that's what FIFA is about.

FIFA is—I say this as well to all the media present, because everyone else knows it—FIFA is an official provider of happiness to humanity. And in the next year, we are providing happiness to humanity from the United States of America, and that's why we are happy to be here.

So we have the Club World Cup this year. We have the World Cup next year. United States, Canada, and Mexico, of course. One hundred and four games, Mr. President—104 Super Bowls in one month.

The President. That's pretty big. Yes.

Mr. Infantino. We'll have 6 billion viewers. The final alone will attract between 2 and 3 billion viewers. This is, I don't know, 15, 20 times more than the Super Bowl. The entire world will focus on the United States of America, and America welcomes the world.

[Mr. Infantino continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]

So we have and the world has, of course, full, full, and entire confidence in the United States and in all the partners, in all the agencies, to make sure that we will bring to the world something that they have never seen and they will probably never see again.

The President. Thank you.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you very much. We are here for that.

The President. Thank you.

Mr. Infantino. And I'm looking forward——

The President. Thank you very much.

Mr. Infantino. ——to these two World Cups. Thank you.

The President. Great job. Thank you very much.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you, Mr. President.

Vice President Vance. Well, thank you, Mr. President, and thanks to this incredible group that we've assembled. I'm proud to be the Vice Chair of this for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the last time the President had me around a national or international sports trophy was the College Football Playoff National Championship, and I almost broke it. [Laughter] And so I appreciate the President giving me a second chance here.

[Vice President Vance continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]

And I will say to—before I turn—turn it over to the next speaker that, of course, everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors, probably, from close to a hundred countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem, who I'll turn it over to now. [Laughter]

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi L. Noem. That is true.

Well, thank you, Mr. President. Thank you so much for dreaming big dreams and doing unprecedented things. Your entire life, you have stood for doing things that other people thought they couldn't do and accomplishing unprecedented events and achievements. And so this is one of those events that I think is going to be remarkable and will stand the test of time as the world's greatest sporting event ever held and conducted.

[Secretary Noem continued her remarks, concluding as follows.]

We will welcome over 2 million visitors that will come here from other countries. We will have 10 million different tickets. Twenty-two million people will interact with these activities. And it is an opportunity to have people bond with each other, to create a friendlier world where we will be able to do business, we'll be able to enjoy their visits here, we will take care of their documentation and travel documents, and it will go smoothly. And we will make sure that they can come and enjoy it and bring their families and friends and make memories together. It's going to be incredibly special.

So thank you for leading at an unprecedented time and doing so with big visions for the future. Thank you for doing this.

The President. Thank you very much, Kristi. Appreciate it.

Sean.

Secretary of Transportation Sean P. Duffy. Thank you, Mr. President.

Eleven U.S. cities, 78 games in the U.S. And I think you said it's just like 78 Super Bowls next summer in the U.S. So this is massive, Mr. President.

Thank you for putting together the Task Force. You know that great events don't happen unless you have great planning. And starting well over a year in advance, putting your team together to make sure this event goes off without a hitch, I thank you for that.

[Secretary Duffy continued his remarks, concluding as follows.]

And, again, we welcome everyone. This team is going to work fullheartedly together to make sure these events go off without a hitch and we're all able to celebrate the great athletes from around the world—48 countries—coming in to compete in our great country.

So thank you, Mr. President.

The President. Thank you very much, Sean. Thank you.

Would you have any questions of these great people or anybody around the table, please?

Q. Mr. President.

The President. Yes. Please go ahead.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada/President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo of Mexico

Q. Mr. President, you hosted the Prime Minister of Canada—oh, I've got a mike.

White House aide. I'll hold it for you.

Q. Thank you. Mr. President, you hosted the Prime Minister of Canada here today, and with him and with also the President of Mexico, there has been some recent tensions between them and the United States. Are you worried about any problems with that joint partnership as cohosts of the World Cup next year?

The President. No. I don't see any tension, either. We get along very well with both. They've just got to pay a little more money. You know, they're just—they're getting away with things that they shouldn't be, and they understand.

We had a great meeting today, actually, with the new Prime Minister, who's a terrific guy. And we had a very long session with J.D. and Marco and everybody, and it went very well.

No, we had a very great meeting and no tension. We want to do what's right for respective peoples, and that's what's going to happen.

And also, with Mexico, I think the relationship is really very good with the President of Mexico, as you know. You've probably heard. And we're going to have a very good relationship with regard to FIFA. I have no doubt about it.

Gianni would know better than anybody, but you understand. I mean, I think the relationship is very good. Thank you very much.

Question? Yes, please.

Coordination With Canada and Mexico Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

Q. Thank you, Mr. President. What will be the level of interaction, cooperation with Canada and Mexico as it relates to next year's World Cup? Are you already talking to them?

The President. Yes, we are.

Q. Is the Task Force already talking to them?

The President. It's total, complete. We talked about it even today at our meeting with—Canada, and the level is total. It's going to be perfect. Going to be beautiful. They're very excited about it.

Yes, please.

[At this point, several reporters began asking questions at once.]

Q. Mr. President, is anything being done to expedite visa applications for people around the world who want to come to the United States for the World Cup?

The President. Yes. Yes.

Q. And if I may, just a second question for maybe Mr. Duffy. Secretary Duffy, is there anything long-lasting transportation wise that Americans can expect from infrastructure being built for the World Cup?

The President. So I'll start with Kristi in terms of the applications.

Secretary Noem. Absolutely. This summer, by hosting the club championships, we're processing those travel documents and visa applications already and working with Carlos and Gianni and their team to make sure that they're done timely and being proactive of it. And then that is obviously going to be a precursor to what we can do next year for the World Cup as well.

So it is all being facilitated, and we appreciate the partnership that we've got on all of this with the State Department as well. And I know we've got the attorney general and Kash at the FBI, too, interested in being a—all-hands-on-deck to make sure this goes smoothly.

The President. Thank you.

Sean.

Secretary Duffy. Yes. So, basically, these are going to be short-term needs, so we're going to have to bring in, you know, busses and additional forms of transportation. Most—Miami doesn't have the capacity with their transit system to carry all of the people who are going to go from hotels and restaurants to stadiums and the fan centers.

So we're going to have to manage those assets, bring them in from around the country to move people, but they won't be needed there long term. So, again, I don't foresee, you know, long-term changes. This is a short-term push of folks coming in to see great soccer matches, and then they'll go home.

The President. Okay.

Q. Mr. President.

The President. Yes, please.

Madison Square Garden in New York City

Q. Thank you. A question about your thoughts on Madison Square Garden. The Transportation Department recently took over the refurbishment of Penn Station, and I was wondering if you have an opinion on the proposal to move Madison Square Garden to allow for a more classical train station to be built—[inaudible]?

The President. To move it?

Q. To—to move it. Yes—[inaudible].

The President. I don't know. That was thought of years. Jim Dolan is going to have something to say about that, and I've not heard of any recent plans. They tried to do that. For years, they've tried to move it. But I think Jim probably likes his location sitting on top of all of the trains. I can't blame him, necessarily. There's not too much of a move.

They are going to do something with Penn Station. We'll be involved in that. We'll work with the Governor, and we'll be involved with that very much. Okay? Thank you.

Q. Mr. President——

The President. Yes, please. Go ahead.

Security Arrangements for FIFA World Cup 2026/2026 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California

Q. Mr. President, the host cities have asked for more than $600 million in Federal funding for security. Do you support that? And perhaps Secretary Noem can weigh in.

The President. On security? Yes.

Q. On security, yes. Six hundred million dollars for——

The President. Yes, I support—

Q. ——security funding. Do you think that the Federal Government should——

The President. I support, really, whatever that takes.

Q.——give that to the——

The President. And any money that's spent we'll make up manyfold in terms of all of the economic development. These events, especially what we're talking—and you have FIFA, and then you have the Olympics—and these events, if properly done, make a tremendous amount of money and prestige. I think it's a great allure and prestige for our country and for the cities where they are.

It's going to be amazing, yes. But we're going to not—we won't hold back at all on security, most importantly. Okay? Thank you.

Yes, please.

Trade Negotiations/Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada

Q. Mr. President, first question: Is there any reason you haven't referred to Mark Carney as "Governor," as you did with Trudeau?

And the second question: You said earlier that you don't have to sign any trade deals, of course. Is there any country you expect to sign a trade deal with this week, as Secretary Bessent has indicated?

The President. Well, we're looking at a lot of them. We're talking to a lot of them right now. I think—I don't want to bore people with that, but I gave a very long definition this morning in the Oval Office.

We have—we're in very, very good shape. This country has never been in better shape, and we're doing great. We were being ripped off by every country in the world, virtually, and now we're not being ripped off anymore. It's very simple. Very, very simple.

As far as calling him "Governor Carney," no, I haven't done that yet, and maybe I won't. I did have a lot of fun with Trudeau, but I think this is—this is a big step up. It's a good step up for Canada.

I watched very closely. I thought he did really terrifically in the debates. I like him. You know, he's a nice man. We get along very well. We had a great meeting today. Really good. I think the relationship is going to be very strong.

Thank you.

FIFA World Cup 2026/Russia/Ukraine

Q. Mr. President, on——

The President. Yes.

Q. ——the World Cup. Russia is banned from playing the next World Cup. What's your position on this?

The President. Say it again.

Q. Russia has been banned from playing the next World Cup. What's your position on this?

The President. I didn't know that. Is that right?

Mr. Infantino. Yes.

The President. Do you want to explain that?

Mr. Infantino. That is right. They are banned for the time being. Yes.

The President. Okay.

Mr. Infantino. From playing. But we hope that——

The President. He's the boss. I'm not the boss on that. I have nothing to do with it.

Mr. Infantino. We hope that something happens, and peace will happen. And then we——

The President. It's possible.

Mr. Infantino. ——Russia can be readmitted. So that's what we hope.

The President. That's possible. Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop. We want the—5,000 young people a week are being killed. It's not even believable. They're Russian soldiers, and they're Ukrainian soldiers, mostly. Also, people in towns every once—every 2 weeks. Horrible thing going on over there.

So we're going to—get that war stopped.

Okay.

Group of Seven (G–7) Nations/Russia

Q. Mr. President, when you were talking about all of the events that will be happening here in the U.S. over the next few years, you mentioned the G–7, and you said it used to be called the G–8.

The President. Yes.

Q. As the host country, you can actually invite Russia to the G–7 plus one. What's your thinking on that right now, Mr. President?

The President. Well, Russia used to be a member of what was called, then, the G–8, and I don't think I was really in politics at that point, but I know that President Obama didn't like it, and they voted Russia out.

And I say if they didn't vote Russia out—which I thought was a very foolish decision, because it's a group of people sitting around a table. I've done it many times with them. And you get to know them. And I say that if Russia—if it was the G–8, if Russia were in it, I think you probably wouldn't have this ridiculous, deadly war going on right now.

I thought it was a very bad decision. It was headed by Trudeau, by the way, and Obama. They were the ones that really fought hard to get Russia out.

I think if Russia were in, you wouldn't be—they threw them out. And because of that, maybe, millions of people are dying. Millions. You know, millions. The numbers are—far greater than you think. But millions of people are dying.

If you were sitting around a table with other people, seven people hammering them and saying, "Let's not do this," you would—I think you wouldn't, probably, have had the—problems that you've had.

Q. So would you make a push, Mr. President, to get Russia back into this group and make it the G–8?

The President. No, I think it's not good timing now. No, right now it's—we missed that gate, didn't we? Huh? We missed that gate with another great decision by some people that shouldn't have been making decisions.

Yes, go ahead.

Freedom of Speech

Q. Mr. President, should people who have taken part in, for example, pro-Palestinian protests across the world be concerned about being able to join the World Cup and watch it here in the U.S.?

The President. Well, I don't know what you mean by that, but people that have taken part in protests—I think people are allowed to protest. You have to do it in a reasonable manner—not necessarily friendly, but reasonable. Otherwise, Pam will come after you, and you're going to have a big problem. [Laughter] You're going to have a big problem. Right, Pam?

She's doing a good job too. Well, my whole team here is doing a fantastic job. We're very proud of them.

So yes, you have a right to protest. Yes. Thank you.

Q. May I have one more, sir?

The President. Go ahead, yes.

Gaza, Palestinian Territories/Hamas

Q. Do you support Israel's plan to conquer Gaza if Hamas doesn't agree to a deal during your visit to the Middle East?

The President. These are very strange questions, aren't they? [Laughter] I never like when they read them off a machine. I don't know. [Laughter] Who's sending in the question to you? And let's not talk about that now. We're talking about the World Cup.

Go ahead. What else? Anything else? I think we're pretty well set.

I want to thank everybody, and we're going to make this tremendously successful. And you can see Gianni is a very enthusiastic man. He's got great enthusiasm, and that's one of the reasons that you've had such success over the last number of years that you've been there. Amazing.

He's like somebody that just woke up on Christmas morning as a young child and saw those toys under the tree. [Laughter] And that enthusiasm really plays very well, I have to say.

Mr. Infantino. Thank you.

The President. And you've done a fantastic job as the head. And we're going to—we're going to do what we have to do. And thank you very much.

Thank you, everybody, very much. Appreciate it.