July 9 – US president Donald Trump will attend the final of the Club World Cup on Sunday at Metlife Stadium, he confirmed.
“I’ll be going to the game,” Trump told reporters following a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. His attendance will mark Trump’s first presence at a major football event in his second term. Next year, the United States will co-host the 48-team World Cup and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will also stage the final.
Trump’s confirmation followed FIFA’s announcement that the world governing body has opened an office at Trump Tower, where the Club World Cup trophy will be on display until the final.
In a statement, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “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 and for the FIFA World Cup next year. As well from the local authorities in all the host cities, it has been incredible and this has contributed, of course, to making the FIFA Club World Cup such an incredible success so far.”
Some European stakeholders bristled at the last iteration of the Infantino and Trump bromance. Trump is also the world’s most famous convicted felon, but that hasn’t stopped the FIFA boss from seizing every opportunity to spend time with the US president after he was frozen out of the White House by the Joe Biden administration.
During the Club World Cup, Infantino took Italian club Juventus, a participant in the tournament, to the Oval Office, which led to awkward exchanges between the players and Trump over LGBT+ players and gender identification. Incredibly the FIFA and Juventus delegation stood behind the president while he was answering press questions over whether the US would bomb Iran.
Sunday’s final will mark the culmination of the maiden 32-team tournament, Infantino’s pet project that’s been beset by problems, ranging from slow ticketing to heat affecting players. On Tuesday, Chelsea became the first team to reach the final after eliminating the last Brazilian club in the competition Fluminense 2-0 with a brace from Joao Pedro. They will face Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain in an all-European final.
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