This Friday, the global football community will turn its eyes to the Kennedy Center in Washington DC for the official draw of the 2026 men's World Cup. For fans, it's a moment of high anticipation, a first real taste of the tournament to come. Yet this event is set against a deeply controversial backdrop, one that threatens to redefine the relationship between the sport and politics.
A Tournament Transformed and a Political Courtship
The 2026 World Cup will be an unprecedented 48-team sporting extravaganza hosted across three nations: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. However, the build-up has been marked by an extraordinary political alignment. Over the past eight years, football's governing body, FIFA, has actively courted former and potentially future US President Donald Trump.
This relationship will be starkly visible at Friday's ceremony. Alongside the crucial group stage draw, FIFA plans to award its inaugural football peace prize. The intended first recipient? Donald Trump, who is widely tipped to be honoured, a move that has sparked intense debate within the sport.
Tangible Risks for the Beautiful Game
As Guardian journalist Helen Pidd highlights, this close association carries significant risks. Trump's political rhetoric and policy history present direct challenges to the inclusive spirit of the World Cup. He has already threatened to move games away from Democrat-controlled cities, injecting partisan domestic politics into the tournament's logistics.
More alarmingly, his previous administration's travel bans could directly impact the competition. Official policy from that era barred nationals from certain countries from entering the US. With teams qualifying from across the globe, there is a real prospect that players or fans could be affected by such policies if reinstated, undermining the very fabric of the event.
What This Means for Football's Future
The decision to intertwine the World Cup's legacy with a divisive political figure represents a profound gamble. Football's global appeal relies on its ability to, at least aspirationally, transcend borders and politics. By aligning so closely with Trump, FIFA risks alienating a substantial portion of its worldwide audience and embroiling the sport in contentious geopolitical disputes.
The ceremony in Washington should be a pure celebration of football. Instead, it threatens to become a symbol of the sport's complicated and potentially regrettable entanglement with power. The world will be watching not just the draw, but how football navigates this self-made political tightrope as it approaches the 2026 tournament.
