Trump and FIFA Have Already Broken the 2026 World Cup

Source: The New Republic · Bias: Left

Summary

Take a random moment from Trump’s second term—his inauguration, a state visit to the Middle East, a meeting of the preposterous “Board of Peace,” even just a random day when cameras are allowed into the Oval Office—and there is a decent chance that Gianni Infantino will be somewhere in the frame. From practically the moment Trump returned to office, the FIFA president has slavishly followed him, like an Italian golden retriever, practically everywhere.Infantino likes to pitch himself as a partner, which to some extent he is: Beginning in June, he and Trump will put on the 2026 World Cup, the majority of which will take place in the United States. Together, the FIFA boss said when Trump was inaugurated, they will “make not only America great again, but also the entire world.” Over the last 15 months, Infantino has backed Trump as he has has gone to war with one World Cup qualifying nation (Iran), placed severe travel restrictions on several others, and threatened more or less the entire world, including World Cup co-hosts Mexico and Canada. In October, Infantino donned a red MAGA hat and pledged FIFA money to Trump’s offensive Gaza redevelopment plan; two months later, he handed him the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize,” which may be the most ridiculous prize in human history. Infantino has even started to talk like Trump: The World Cup, he said shortly before handing Trump the gilded FIFA Peace Prize in December, is “simply the greatest event that humanity, that mankind, has ever seen and will ever see.”Trump and Infantino are two peas in a rotten pod: They’re both greedy, corrupt international leaders who lie to get what they want, flout the rules, and gouge everyday people. It’s no surprise, then, that their respective domains have come to resemble each other, too. Ostensibly a celebration of global diversity, harmony, and sport, the 2026 World Cup under Infantino has become a lot like the U.S. under Trump: chaotic, divisive, and increasingly derailed by scandal and conflict. What deeper level of hell awaits us when these two forces converge in June? Infantino is fond of describing the World Cup in messianic terms. The tournament, he said in 2024, “is a unique catalyst ... for positive social change and unity.” In New Jersey, at least, the tournament is proving to be exactly the opposite. The state reportedly is going to charge World Cup fans close to $150 for the 15-minute train ride from Penn Station in Manhattan to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey—a trip usually costs $12.90. But this is not a case of a blue state trying to get rich off of World Cup fans. Rather, New Jersey is just trying to cover the onerous cost of hosting eight of the tournament’s matches.“You may have seen some recent headlines about transportation costs for World Cup games in New Jersey,” New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said in a video posted on social media on Thursday. “Our administration inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup. Zero.” She explained that it will cost New Jersey Transit $48 million “to safely get 40,000 fans to and from every game. At the same time, FIFA is making $11 billion off of this World Cup, and charging fans up to $10,000 for a single ticket for the final. I won’t stick New Jersey commuters for that tab for years to come, that’s not fair. So here’s the bottom line: FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t I’m not going to let New Jersey commuters get taken for one.” In a statement issued hours later, FIFA said it was “quite surprised” by the attack—on Friday the organization went even further, absurdly accusing New Jersey of a “chilling effect” on the tournament— and laboriously detailed negotiations over transit costs, effectively arguing that it’s not FIFA’s fault that Sherrill’s predecessors struck a deal she doesn’t like. FIFA also said it “is not aware of any other major event at [MetLife] where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation.”But hosting the World Cup is hardly the same as, say, a New York Giants game or a Beyoncé concert. Parking will be extremely limited at the stadium because FIFA insisted on an unprecedented security cordon that will envelop the entirety of the stadium’s massive parking lots—which also means there will be no tailgating at the World Cup. (Oh, by the way, FIFA is operating the limited parking that is available and charging $200-$300 for the privilege.) States and municipalities also must cover security costs both generally and for FIFA officials, meaning that New Jersey will foot the bill whenever Infantino deigns to show up at a game. So New Jersey did what Massachusetts did before it, deciding that the fans who are already shelling out hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for tickets can afford to pay a little more.Who are these fans? We can guess who they’re not. Fans from four qualifying countries—Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal—currently face travel bans.

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Trump and FIFA Have Already Broken the 2026 World Cup
The New Republic

Trump and FIFA Have Already Broken the 2026 World Cup

Left

Take a random moment from Trump’s second term—his inauguration, a state visit to the Middle East, a meeting of the preposterous “Board of Peace,” even just a random day when cameras are allowed into the Oval Office—and there is a decent chance that Gianni Infantino will be somewhere in the frame. From practically the moment Trump returned to office, the FIFA president has slavishly followed him, like an Italian golden retriever, practically everywhere.Infantino likes to pitch himself as a partner, which to some extent he is: Beginning in June, he and Trump will put on the 2026 World Cup, the majority of which will take place in the United States. Together, the FIFA boss said when Trump was inaugurated, they will “make not only America great again, but also the entire world.” Over the last 15 months, Infantino has backed Trump as he has has gone to war with one World Cup qualifying nation (Iran), placed severe travel restrictions on several others, and threatened more or less the entire world, including World Cup co-hosts Mexico and Canada. In October, Infantino donned a red MAGA hat and pledged FIFA money to Trump’s offensive Gaza redevelopment plan; two months later, he handed him the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize,” which may be the most ridiculous prize in human history. Infantino has even started to talk like Trump: The World Cup, he said shortly before handing Trump the gilded FIFA Peace Prize in December, is “simply the greatest event that humanity, that mankind, has ever seen and will ever see.”Trump and Infantino are two peas in a rotten pod: They’re both greedy, corrupt international leaders who lie to get what they want, flout the rules, and gouge everyday people. It’s no surprise, then, that their respective domains have come to resemble each other, too. Ostensibly a celebration of global diversity, harmony, and sport, the 2026 World Cup under Infantino has become a lot like the U.S. under Trump: chaotic, divisive, and increasingly derailed by scandal and conflict. What deeper level of hell awaits us when these two forces converge in June? Infantino is fond of describing the World Cup in messianic terms. The tournament, he said in 2024, “is a unique catalyst ... for positive social change and unity.” In New Jersey, at least, the tournament is proving to be exactly the opposite. The state reportedly is going to charge World Cup fans close to $150 for the 15-minute train ride from Penn Station in Manhattan to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey—a trip usually costs $12.90. But this is not a case of a blue state trying to get rich off of World Cup fans. Rather, New Jersey is just trying to cover the onerous cost of hosting eight of the tournament’s matches.“You may have seen some recent headlines about transportation costs for World Cup games in New Jersey,” New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said in a video posted on social media on Thursday. “Our administration inherited an agreement where FIFA is providing $0 for transportation to the World Cup. Zero.” She explained that it will cost New Jersey Transit $48 million “to safely get 40,000 fans to and from every game. At the same time, FIFA is making $11 billion off of this World Cup, and charging fans up to $10,000 for a single ticket for the final. I won’t stick New Jersey commuters for that tab for years to come, that’s not fair. So here’s the bottom line: FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t I’m not going to let New Jersey commuters get taken for one.” In a statement issued hours later, FIFA said it was “quite surprised” by the attack—on Friday the organization went even further, absurdly accusing New Jersey of a “chilling effect” on the tournament— and laboriously detailed negotiations over transit costs, effectively arguing that it’s not FIFA’s fault that Sherrill’s predecessors struck a deal she doesn’t like. FIFA also said it “is not aware of any other major event at [MetLife] where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation.”But hosting the World Cup is hardly the same as, say, a New York Giants game or a Beyoncé concert. Parking will be extremely limited at the stadium because FIFA insisted on an unprecedented security cordon that will envelop the entirety of the stadium’s massive parking lots—which also means there will be no tailgating at the World Cup. (Oh, by the way, FIFA is operating the limited parking that is available and charging $200-$300 for the privilege.) States and municipalities also must cover security costs both generally and for FIFA officials, meaning that New Jersey will foot the bill whenever Infantino deigns to show up at a game. So New Jersey did what Massachusetts did before it, deciding that the fans who are already shelling out hundreds (or thousands) of dollars for tickets can afford to pay a little more.Who are these fans? We can guess who they’re not. Fans from four qualifying countries—Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal—currently face travel bans.

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