Why US president Donald Trump's policies threatens FIFA's American dream

The United States of America is set to hog the limelight in international as well as club football in the near future by hosting a couple of global events in consecutive years. The US will be hosting the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time later this summer, and will co-host the FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and Canada next year, with the world’s biggest football event returning to American soil after 32 years.

America will also be occupying a special place in football (or soccer as it’s popularly known in that part of the world) history by hosting expanded versions of both global events. The Club World Cup has had single-digit participation in all editions except in 2001 (12), and is set to be a 32-team event this year .

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The FIFA World Cup, which had been a 32-team event since 1998, will have 48 teams in action next year , with the US playing a crucial role by hosting a majority of the fixtures including the final .

The two events, however, face complications due to US President Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs and immigration, which has caused plenty of turbulence as far as the American foreign policy is concerned.

Why Trump administration’s policies threaten the two FIFA events in the US

President Trump had played down concerns surrounding the Club World Cup, which will be taking place across 11 American cities from 14 June to 13 July, while speaking at an event at the White House in the presence of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

“I think it’s going to make it more exciting. Tension’s a good thing, I think it makes it much more exciting,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office.

Ticket sales for the Club World Cup, however, have been slow so far with only a couple of months left for the tournament to get underway. The poor response in ticket sales comes at a time when the US has witnessed a sizeable drop in tourism this year with fewer visits from neighbours Canada and Mexico as well as from the United Kingdom on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, according to Bloomberg.

Infantino, however, played down concerns over ticket sales, and is expecting “full stadiums”.

“I don’t have any concerns about ticket sales. We’ll have full stadiums in America,” Infantino said.

“If in America you fill soccer stadiums for friendly games, then when you come with a World Cup and the best players to win a competition … we’ll have to promote it, we’ll have to present it, we’ll have to explain it to the people.

“That’s what we are doing. But it’s a celebration of soccer and the stadiums will be full and fans will be coming from all over the world,” he added.

The current political climate in the US which could make fans think twice before booking their match and flight tickets for the Club World Cup, and even next year’s FIFA World Cup if the situation remains the same.

‘The world loves America’: Infantino

Infantino, however, added that he has received assurances from the White House that football fans visiting the United States from other countries will not be facing any issues during the two World Cups.

The global head for the sport also had a meeting with US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel at the FIFA office in Miami to discuss security plans as well as potential visa issues for traveling fans.

“The world loves America, whatever some might say,” Infantino said.

“It’s absolutely crucial that we have this collaboration. This never would have been possible some years ago with the image that FIFA had. We came back a long way. Today, we work in a clear way, in a transparent way, in an ethical way.

“We’ll bring the world to the United States of America. These are the guarantees the United States government signed at the time of the bidding, and reconfirmed of course. The world will be welcomed,” he added.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) had expressed similar concerns for the LA28 Games that will be taking place in Los Angeles three years from now, especially after an internal memo revealed that the Trump administration was “weighing sweeping travel restrictions”.

USOPC Chair Gene Sykes has since stated that he has received “significant reassurances” from the White House regarding visas for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.

The American Olympic body, however, has refrained from drafting a policy regarding eligibility of transgender athletes in the build-up to the next edition of the Olympics in defiance of the Trump administration, which has been cracking down on trans athletes in women’s sports this year.