Donald Trump was wearing his ‘was right about everything’ hat when he made major announcements about the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday. The 79-year-old revealed that Washington’s John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will host the draw for the soccer tournament. The draw will be held on December 5.
President Trump was making the announcements with a golden World Cup trophy sitting on the Resolute Desk. The draw will determine the schedule for the tournament, which is held every four years, and will be held in the US next year.
“It’s a tremendous honor to bring the global event, and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes — the best athletes in the world — to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” the president said.
“Some people refer to it as the Trump Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet.”
FIFA World Cup 2026: Draw, dates, venues and more
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be the largest in history with 48 teams across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
President Trump announced that the final draw will occur on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM PST at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
The draw will allocate 48 qualified teams, already including co-hosts USA, Canada, and Mexico, into 12 groups of four, based on FIFA’s November/December 2025 rankings.
Pot 1 will feature the hosts and top-ranked teams, with Pots 2, 3, and 4 following suit, though UEFA and inter-confederation playoff winners (determined by March 2026) will be placeholders.
The tournament kicks off on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across 16 host cities.
Trump’s new interest in FIFA World Cup
Over the summer, Trump attended the FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, treating it as a trial run ahead of next year’s expanded tournament. He has met repeatedly with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who at one point allowed Trump to hoist the World Cup trophy, telling him it was “for winners only.”
Trump, grinning, asked if he could keep it, before declaring, “we’re not giving it back.” Infantino had previously presented him with the Club World Cup trophy during an earlier White House visit.