US president Donald Trump has matches to sport’s biggest political powder keg

On the one hand, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is so sycophantic in courting Trump that he is creating a peace prize in his honor and appearing at the inaugural Peace Board meeting wearing a red US cap branded 45-47, a reference to the president’s non-consecutive terms. On the other hand, Denmark has still not shelved the option of boycotting the tournament in protest of Trump’s aggressive rhetoric on Greenland.

There are potential flashpoints everywhere you look. Are you staging the first group game for the United States in Los Angeles?

While this is the perfect stage for Trump to flex his muscles, it’s also a city where his popularity has waned due to heavy immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) and where California governor Gavin Newsom is the runaway favorite to become the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028.

How interesting to remember that the 2026 World Cup was sold under the marketing banner “United” during the bidding process in 2017; This suggests that an unprecedented geographic expansion could still be a recipe for perfect harmony.

Today, even among co-hosts, this idea seems extremely naive. Relations between Washington and Ottawa are at a historic low point in the wake of Trump’s tariff war and repeated threats to make Canada the “51st state,” going so far as to publicize a fake map with Stars and Stripes plastered everywhere from Banff to Baffin Island.

As for Mexico, the third wheel of the World Cup in North America, the situation is explosive. Just a mile from Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron, which is set to host four games, a burning bus could be seen blocking the road this week; The murder of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes sparked a wave of cartel-related chaos.

FIFA maintains it is “closely monitoring” the violence. For Trump, who has made crushing the cartels a cornerstone of his border policy, this is an opportunity that screams exploitation for political gain.

Typically, choosing sport to polish a regime is described as the exercise of soft power. But there is nothing soft about Trump’s entry into the world of sports in 2026, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the republic.

He plans to celebrate the auspicious moment on June 14, which coincides with his 80th birthday and the first week of the World Cup, by holding a cage fight on the South Lawn of the White House. After all, what better way to remember America’s fight for freedom against Britain than to fight for real at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?

Few would have imagined that a sitting president would use the seat of executive power as a mixed martial arts venue. But no one expected to spend £300 million ($A570 million) renovating the East Wing ballroom.

‘How interesting to remember that the 2026 World Cup was sold under the marketing banner ‘United’ during the bidding process in 2017.’

Optics are everything to Trump. You felt it when he positioned himself front and center at last summer’s Club World Cup trophy presentation, to the point where Chelsea’s Reece James looked oddly at the arch-thief.

Now, Trump’s second term has been graced with the almost unheard of doubleheader of the World Cup and Olympics held on home soil. If nothing else, this gives him a perfect fit with the winners.

The man who once said that John McCain was only a war hero “because he got caught – I like people who don’t get caught” has long embraced a ruthless logic about winning and losing. As ice hockey players discovered, win gold and you’ll be adorned with all manner of ceremonial honors.

If you take the bronze medal the U.S. women’s soccer team found at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, you will be held up by Trump as an example of how “everything that wakes up goes bad.” That’s why, in this heated geopolitical era, the World Cup in his backyard threatens to become the ultimate political powder keg.

FIFA warns World Cup could be ‘disaster’ as security concerns grow

FIFA has been warned the World Cup faces a “disaster” as host cities fight the US government over a funding freeze.

Following this week’s cartel violence in neighboring Mexico, FIFA and its organizing committees’ headaches have deepened amid warnings of cash shortages in US cities.

Kansas, where England will be based this summer, was among the World Cup host cities and warned the US Congress about insufficient federal funding 100 days after the match started.

A total of £666 million set for 11 host cities in the US has yet to be received, a hearing in the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee was told.

Ray Martinez, chief operating officer of the Miami World Cup Host Committee, has warned that events such as fan zones will be further scaled back unless £52 million is paid to organizers within the next month.

“There are 107 days left until the tournament ends, but more importantly, there are about 70-odd days left until the construction of Fan Fest,” he said.

“These decisions need to be made. Without getting this money, it could be disastrous in terms of our planning and coordination.”

The deterioration of relations between cities and the federal government has been cited as the primary reason why security preparations are behind schedule.

Kansas City deputy police chief Joseph Mabin said his department does not have enough personnel to meet the city’s security needs.

Last November, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), launched a FIFA World Cup grant program to help cities prepare for the tournament, which begins June 11.

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The currently frozen funding was supposed to help “conduct comprehensive security activities required to protect players, staff, participants, venues, and critical infrastructure in host cities and fortify them against potential terrorist attacks.”

Mabin said the release of funding was “critical” for his city to hire additional staff ahead of the World Cup. He claimed his local department did not have enough staff to address all security threats. Kansas City will host six matches as well as being the location of UK’s main camp.

The concerns emerged in the same week that drug cartel violence near the Mexican host city of Guadalajara raised concerns about Mexico’s ability to secure its venues.

The White House World Cup Task Force has been contacted for comment.