Washington:
US President Donald Trump said Friday that trade tensions with Mexico and Canada would be a boost for the 2026 World Cup as he announced the creation of a White House task force to help organize the tournament.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside Gianni Infantino, the head of world football’s governing body FIFA, Trump brushed off suggestions that his administration’s ongoing spat with the USA’s 2026 World Cup co-hosts could impact the tournament.
“Oh, I think it’s going to make it more exciting,” Trump replied when asked how the tensions between the United States, Canada and Mexico might affect the event.
“Tension is a good thing … it makes it much more exciting,” Trump added after signing an executive order formally creating the 2026 World Cup task force that he will chair.
Trump said the task force would assist in planning for what his executive order described as the “largest sporting event in history.”
“We’re going to be establishing a task force, a very important task force — White House — and that’s on the FIFA World Cup of 2026 which, as you know, is a big event,” Trump said.
Infantino meanwhile said the 2026 World Cup — and this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup in the United States — would create 200,000 jobs and have an economic impact of $40 billion.
“And more than that, we will give joy and happiness to the entire world, and this is priceless, definitely,” Infantino added.
“So thank you, Mr President, for setting up this task force, because it is important that everyone that comes to America feels safe, feels welcome, and that’s why it’s important that the government puts together this White House Task Force.”
Infantino meanwhile added that the scale of next year’s World Cup — which is being expanded to include 48 teams — was equivalent to staging three NFL Super Bowls a day for one month.
“That’s really amazing when you think of it,” Trump remarked. “I’ve never heard that expressed.”
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