July 16 – last Sunday at the Club World Cup Final, US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino jointly presented the 24-carat gold plated trophy to victorious Chelsea captain Reece James. While that gong will be returning to Stamford Bridge, Trump claims the original trophy will remain in the White House.
“I said, ‘When are you going to pick up the trophy?’ [They said] ‘We’re never going to pick it up. You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one,'” Trump told official Club World Cup broadcaster Dazn on Sunday.
“And they actually made a new one. So that was quite exciting, but it is in the Oval [Office] right now.”
Whether there’s actually any difference between the two pieces of ‘gold’-ware remains anyone’s guess. FIFA aren’t saying, naturally, nor the actual cost, though the cost of the original trophy – design and made by Tiffany & Co.- has been estimated at $230,000.
The trophy saga is just the latest chapter in what’s becoming a tighter bromance between Trump and world football’s governing body. Since starting his second term, the President has made FIFA part of his regular White House furniture, with that trophy becoming a permanent fixture in America’s most famous office.
Trump wasn’t done with the surprises either. He floated the idea of an executive order forcing Americans to ditch “soccer” for “football” – and claimed world leaders have been telling him the US is “the hottest country in the world” in terms of economic activity and political positioning.
While the US is wracked by divisiveness created by Trump, his tone concerning the ‘beautiful game’ was a stark contrast to his usual rhetoric.
“It’s about unity,” he said of FIFA’s decision to bring both the Club World Cup and the men’s World Cup to the United States.
“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.”
In a world where international relations often feel more fractured than a Sunday league tackle, you’d have to say that’s not the worst message to champion. Though the messaging would be more convincing and believable if Trump was not targeting racially profiling and targeting hispanic immigrant communities in his own country.
Currently six of the nine African nations leading 2026 World Cup have US travel bans or restrictions in place, as does Iran who already qualified.
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