US President Donald Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and defending champions Argentina on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the White House confirmed on Thursday, according to Reuters.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will first travel to New York City on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in Manhattan before heading to the final on Sunday.
White House confirms Trump’s attendance at World Cup final
The announcement confirms earlier remarks by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who had said last month that Trump would be present for the trophy presentation after the championship match.
“We will be together with the president, enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course,” Infantino had said during an appearance on Fox & Friends on 23 June.
The presence of heads of state at World Cup finals is not unusual. Political leaders have attended previous finals, including those held in Qatar in 2022 and Russia in 2018, and some have participated in post-match trophy presentations.
Despite the tournament being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, neither Trump nor Vice President JD Vance has attended any of the 102 matches played so far. However, several members of the US Cabinet have attended matches involving the US men’s national team in California and Seattle.
Leavitt described Trump’s appearance at the final as a fitting conclusion to what she called the “most-watched, most secure and most successful World Cup in American history”. The United States previously hosted the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 1994.
Trump, FIFA chief Infantino to present trophy to champions
has made several appearances at major sporting events during both of his presidential terms. He has attended the Super Bowl, the US Open tennis tournament, the Ryder Cup, the Daytona 500 and multiple UFC events. Last month, he was present at UFC Freedom 250 on the White House South Lawn and also attended Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
He was also present at last year’s Club World Cup final, held at the same stadium that will host Sunday’s World Cup final, where he joined the celebrations as English club Chelsea lifted the trophy.
Trump and Infantino have maintained close public engagement in recent months. Last December, the FIFA president joined Trump at the Kennedy Centre in Washington to announce the World Cup draw and later presented him with FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize.
The two were also in contact during the tournament after US striker Folarin Balogun received a red card during a group-stage victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trump acknowledged calling Infantino to discuss Balogun’s automatic one-match suspension.
While Infantino confirmed receiving the call, he maintained that he did not intervene in FIFA’s disciplinary process. later suspended the one-match ban, allowing Balogun to feature in the round-of-16 match against Belgium. The United States, however, was eliminated after a 4-1 defeat, Reuters reported.
