2026 FIFA World Cup Draw to Take Place at Kennedy Center, Trump Announces

President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 22 that Washington’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw.

Trump made the announcement during a ceremony in the Oval Office on Friday with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“I’m delighted to welcome FIFA president Gianni Infantino back to the White House for a major announcement about one of the most anticipated competitions in all of sports,” Trump said. “The 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center.”

The FIFA World Cup’s “draw” is a ceremony that determines which teams will play against each other in the group stage and creates the tournament’s bracket structure.

Trump said FIFA is projecting that 6 million fans will attend the World Cup events next year, with an additional 6 million watching from home. The tournament’s sporting events that will be held in the United States next year will drive roughly $30 billion into the U.S. economy and create 185,000 jobs, Trump said.

“No sporting event attracts more attention, more fans, more viewers, or more revenue than the FIFA World Cup,” he added.

The tournament will be hosted across North America, with Canada hosting 13 games, Mexico hosting 13, and the United States hosting events across 11 cities.

Trump said the visa process for tourists coming to the United States for the World Cup would be easy.

“They’re going to have a very easy time getting in. Certain countries are going to be very, very easy, and other countries are going to be obviously, a little bit more difficult,” he said.

Infantino thanked Trump for inviting him to the White House for the announcement.

“We are uniting the world, Mr. President, uniting the world, here in America, and we are very proud of that. And those teams, those national teams, who will come here to participate in this draw, with their coaches, with their presidents, they will all be proud to be part of writing this history,” he said.

Infantino handed Trump the gold FIFA championship trophy as a gesture for bringing the World Cup to North America.

“It is the trophy that the winner of the FIFA World Cup wins. Only the FIFA president, presidents of countries, and then those who win can touch it, because it’s for winners only,” he said. “And since you are a winner, of course you can as well touch it. … The last one who lifted that is [Lionel] ‘Leo’ Messi.”

Trump jokingly asked if he could keep the trophy and display it on the wall in the Oval Office.

In May, Trump announced that he had appointed Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as executive director of the president’s task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

At the White House on Friday, Andrew Giuliani thanked Trump for the appointment.

“This is a great opportunity, Mr. President, to show off the first 250 years of the United States of America, the greatness and then the hope and promise of the next 250 years,” he said.

Jackson Richman and Reuters contributed to this report.