Editor’s Note: This event features President Donald Trump speaking at a FIFA reception in New York City, celebrating the historic success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In his address, he highlights the tournament as a monumental achievement, noting the unprecedented attendance and the sense of unity and pride brought to the United States. President Trump also expresses his gratitude to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and acknowledges the contributions of his administration and the host cities in making the event a seamless, secure, and memorable experience for fans worldwide. (July 17, 2026)
TRANSCRIPT:
FIFA President Gianni Infantino Addresses the Reception
GIANNI INFANTINO: Well, thank you. Thank you very much, dear Mr. President, dear friends, colleagues, ladies, gentlemen, presidents from all over the world, dear President. We have the world united here today. The presidents of all the countries of the world, of course of football or soccer in the world, but we know that this is the most important thing in the world. So the most important people in the world are here today.
The legends of our game are here, those who made our hearts beat, who made the hearts of billions of people in the world beat. And, of course, the FIFA Council as well. We are all here united tonight, President, to celebrate this incredible FIFA World Cup.
Infantino Reflects on the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s Success
When we met the first time, Mr. President, in 2018, in the summer after the award of the decision, I promised you we would make a great World Cup. And by all means, this World Cup has exceeded all expectations. Full stadiums, 7 million people in the stadium, tens of millions in the cities, in America, in Canada, in Mexico, billions in front of their TV, everyone enjoying the game with happiness, with joy, with peace.
And the American dream, Mr. President, came to reality. We united the world. We united the world in America when I told you we will do a great World Cup. When you told me America will welcome the world, and you did welcome the world. Everyone that came here enjoyed it. Everyone that stayed home enjoyed it as well by watching the incredible images of these beautiful host cities of the fans from all over the world coming together and enjoying in peace, Mr. President, in happiness and in joy.
Because I don’t know if you know, but the official definition of FIFA is we are — FIFA is the official happiness provider to humanity since 120 years. So we are providing joy and happiness. Unless the team loses, of course.
Infantino Credits President Trump for the Tournament’s Success
And all this, of course, would not have been possible. And I say this because it is the truth. You don’t need people to compliment you, Mr. President, but this World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you.
Your administration, every single person in the White House, in the administration, in the cities, in the states, everywhere contributed to create this safe and secure and joyful environment to live something that the world has never seen.
This has not just been and is not just the greatest World Cup of all times. It is the greatest human, social and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed and seen. And we are all part of it. And for this, I thank you very much, Mr. President. Thanks for having us here. There is one more game to go. Well, two more games.
Closing Remarks from FIFA President Infantino
The bronze medal tomorrow and between England and France, of course, and the great final between Argentina and Spain. One country will be the world champion, but the world has already won. America has won. FIFA has won. And uniting the world in such a way as we did this summer, giving unforgettable experiences and memories to millions, to billions of people all over the world, is something that we will take with us and cherish forever.
President Trump Thanks FIFA President Infantino
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Johnny, this guy. He came to me with this crazy idea. I said, “Are you crazy? We’re not a soccer country.” It turned out we were a soccer country. And I think it’s going to remain. But what he’s done and what he thought of with a lot of your friends that I met today, they were very much involved in the decision.
But I want to thank our great FIFA president, Johnny Infantino. There’s nobody like him, actually. Very few. And the entire team at FIFA for their incredible work. I’ve met so many of them. I see why you were so successful because of the commitment and devotion of the people in this room.
A Tribute to Pavarotti and the Beauty of the Venue
This beautiful room with the sound is very good because you’re going to hear a great opera singer in a couple of minutes. That’s why I say, you know, Pavarotti was here years ago. He was here and he sang right in that corner. And he said to me something I never forgot because it’s luck. Sound is luck. Like talent. You’re born with it. Sound is a little luck. He said, “This is the greatest space.” And he came and recorded either an album or a song.
And we’re going to hear somebody. You’re going to hear somebody in a couple of minutes. That’s really good. But I did say to him, “Christopher, are you as good?” He’s an Italian man, also. I don’t know. It seems that being Italian is a big advantage in that business, right? If his name was Christopher Smith, it wouldn’t work out as well.
But I said, “Christopher, are you as good as Pavarotti?” “No, no, no. He was the maestro. He was the greatest of all time. There was nobody like” — when you hear him, you’ll understand.
He’s just as good. Now, I would have said, “No, no, I’m better than Pavarotti,” if I were him. And therefore, I’m doing this instead of that. But you’re going to hear somebody who’s fantastic, really an acknowledged genius.
The Most Successful Sporting Event in History
But this has been the most successful sporting event maybe in the history of the world. It’s been amazing. So I want to congratulate everybody in this room because you’re very much into football. I’ll say the word football gets a little confusing here because we have the great Bob Kraft. He’s won six Super Bowls — six Super Bowls. That’s not — stand up. Will you please? And he also owns a soccer team, which is good, but hasn’t been quite as good as the football. Do you agree? Not quite. And you’re OK with that. He’s OK with that, actually, in this country. Congratulations, Bob. Nice to have you. Been my friend for a long time.
Securing the World Cup Eight Years Ago
But eight years ago, all the way back in 2018, it was my honor to help secure the World Cup for North America — never thinking that it would turn out to be what it turned out to be. And Johnny said this would happen.
But as fate would have it, I’m president. I said, you know, I was supposed to not be here right now. I was supposed to be president for eight years. The polls showed it. Everyone showed it. They rigged the election. And what did I get? I got the World Cup. I got the Olympics and I brought them here.
I tried to take credit for 250 years, but that didn’t work out as well. I tried to say I created 250 years. That one didn’t work. But I did get the Olympics and we got this. And I don’t know. This might be bigger than the Olympics.
Trump Thanks FIFA Officials and Reflects on Soccer
DONALD TRUMP: Tell me, is it bigger? Much bigger. All right. I’ll take his word for it. I’ll take his word for it. I had a feeling he was going to say that. But Johnny, I want to thank FIFA Secretary General Matias Grafstrom, as well as FIFA vice presidents and all of those vice presidents and council members, along with the presidents and general secretaries of FIFA member associations, along with some presidents of their countries.
Of course, being a president of your country at this particular time isn’t really as good as being the president of one of your associations. But you’ve done an amazing job. In fact, the presidents of the countries are sitting in the back row. You believe this? They’re going to be very upset with you.
But we also have many famous FIFA legends and all-star players, people that I recognize being somebody that knows something about sports. I have my children love soccer. My one son, my very tall son, Barron, loves soccer. He’s a good soccer player.
Trump on Son Barron’s Soccer Skills
He may. I don’t know his speed. My little kid is very tall. I don’t know. I said, when some guy gets by you from Spain, from Argentina, from France, Barron, what happens? From England? What happens, Barron? He said, “Dad, I’m a very good ball handler.” I said, “But Barron, if he’s faster, what do you do about it?” “Dad, he’ll never get by me.” I said, “But when he does.” And he didn’t want to answer that question. So speed, I think, is quite important in this sport. Do you agree? But he has good, good skills, actually.
But he helped Johnny help shape the game. You all helped shape the game and really bring it to a level that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.
A Nod to Melania’s Father, Victor
Melania’s father, Victor, sitting right here. And he’s been a wonderful father-in-law, a great guy. And he said he used to play soccer as a young man. He didn’t quite make it into the big leagues, but he’s a good athlete. Victor, stand up. Stand up. An ex-soccer player. Thanks, Victor. He’s going to be at the game along with Melania, along with everybody. I mean, who’s not going to be at the game? If we had about 10 million more, we would sell every ticket. This thing is sold out. I’ve never seen — nobody seen anything like it.
Anticipating the Final: Spain vs. Argentina
But we’re gathered tonight in New York City as we await the final faceoff on Sunday between the amazing — two amazing teams, Spain and Argentina.
I watched that pass that Messi made. I’m not knowing as much as the people in this room, but I know about sports and I know about a little bit about soccer. But I watched Messi and he was well-guarded, right? Well-guarded. And all of a sudden, he’s standing on the right. You understand what I’m talking about? I don’t know if anybody didn’t. I just noticed that nobody talked about it. I just noticed that I said he’s so well-guarded by a great player. And then he moved to the right and the other player was just standing there and he had plenty of time. He kicked it. It was within, I would say, a quarter of an inch of being perfect. And that was the end of the game. It was brilliant.
And these great players, they seem to do that over and over again. They’re just born with something extra special. I know that Ronaldo is one of them. I got to know him over the years and he’s a great guy.
Trump on Harry Kane and England’s Strategy
You have a great player in England who I played golf with. You know that, right? And he is Harry, who’s been fantastic. I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player. What do I know about soccer? They took the league and they took their best player and they put him on defense. Then somehow, you know, we got to be a little offensive, right? But, no, I’m not going to call it. Look, what do I know about coaching?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup: A Historic Tournament
But that was a little unusual. But Harry is a great guy, actually. But we’re gathered tonight in New York City as we await the final face-off on Sunday between these two amazing teams. And it’s going to be something, I think, really special.
This has been a tournament like no other, filled with fierce competition, unforgettable moments. Like, probably the most unforgettable is when they gave that gentleman, is it a red card? And I was forced to call Johnny and just make a recommendation. I said, “Johnny, I’d like to make a recommendation. Let the guy in to give.” No, I didn’t say that. I said, “I’d like to lodge a complaint.” And actually, I didn’t. I had no idea what was going to happen.
But you know, it’s so much better the way it worked out because there’s no controversy. They won the game and our team had all of its players. You made another great decision. If you think about that, no, you’ll never get credit. You never get credit for it. Think of it. If he didn’t allow him and they — let’s say we would have won the game if we had our best player. So Johnny made yet another of his many good decisions.
Breaking Records: The Largest World Cup in History
But the spirit and patriotism and the unity that’s brought, I think, the whole world together. This has really brought the world together. The 2026 FIFA World Cup has broken almost every record imaginable. This is the largest World Cup in history by far, by many times, actually welcoming 16 additional teams. And I understand you may be making it even larger next time.
I suggested that this has been so successful, and I’m, you know, I’m really working these people hard because they really call the shots. They tell Johnny exactly what to do. I say, “What we should do is you should choose the United States of America again. This time we’ll leave Mexico and Canada out.” But then what you do is — which I was very nice to get them in — but what we do is you leave, you choose us, but you pick somebody else for the next one. And that will take some of the anger, hatred, and steam out of everyone.
But Johnny also had another idea. He said we could do it — China and the United States — for next time, do it in China and the United States. So you have a nice short flight in between games. The players would love that.
Fans From 200 Countries, 104 Games, 16 Cities
But it is the world’s largest. And it’s like having — you know, I first heard this — many Super Bowls at one time. You know, it’s like having many Super Bowls. Every stadium is packed to the rafters, the spirit. Fans from 200 countries attended 104 games spread across 16 northern American cities.
And I saw things happen. My mother comes from Scotland. My father comes from Germany. When I saw the Scottish bagpipes and the Scottish — they were going wild. They were going. I said, “This is really different.” And, you know, a lot of countries came here not knowing what to think, and they love the United States. In fact, the people that came, they’re going to be coming back maybe permanently. I don’t know.
But we love the United States. We’re doing great. We’re doing great. It’s a golden age of America. We’re doing better than we’ve ever done. We have $19.2 trillion being invested — much more than any country has ever had invested into our country. Factories being built all across the land.
Most Attended Tournament in the History of All Sports
But I’m proud to report that with more than 6.5 million attendees, this has been by far the most attended tournament in history. And that’s the history of all sports. And that’s only going to go — well, maybe up. I don’t know where you’re going next time. Where are you going next time? You’re allowed to tell me. I’ll let you know if you’re going to do better. But that’s a tough number to beat, right? That’s why — you know what he wants to do. He’s very competitive. That’s why he’s going to add some more teams.
Record-Breaking Viewership and Fan Growth
He figures by adding some more teams, maybe they can tap it. But the total number of spectators exceeds the entire attendance of the last two World Cups combined. And together, we pulled it off really flawlessly. I mean, I don’t want to say this because you do have two more games. And so let’s not talk about it yet. I don’t want to say how great it’s been.
We’ve had absolute spirit, absolute. I have to say the law enforcement, they’re fantastic, but they didn’t have to work too hard because the spirit was so good. There were no fights. There were no anything. So I just want to say great. But let’s save it for Sunday evening. I think we’ll hold it out for Sunday evening, but it’s going to go well.
By the time the final whistle sounds on Sunday, nearly 6 billion viewers will have watched this World Cup. That’s a record by many, many times over. I have no doubt that the World Cup has won millions of new fans and a lot of new fans in this country, which traditionally hasn’t been a soccer country. But it’s getting there even before this has been going on. And this will have a big impact, I’m sure.
Federal Support and Logistical Achievement
From the first day of my administration, 2025, we’ve worked closely with FIFA to make this event a resounding success. We have great people, Andrew. Thank you very much. Great job. You did. We really — you really worked hard. And thank you very much. Great job.
To put our preparations into perspective, the record-setting tournament has been the logistical equivalent of holding 78 NFL Super Bowls in less than two months time. 78. We marshaled the resources and more than 50 federal departments and agencies deployed every arm of the federal law enforcement to ensure the games would be safe, secure, and they’ve turned out to be amazing.
The State Department expedited thousands and thousands of visas for World Cup ticket holders — very quick, very, we call it fast, fast, letting them in. We call it let them in fast. And we secured — and Marco was fantastic. Marco Rubio. Fantastic. And the job he’s done, Secretary of State. And we secured more than one point two billion dollars in funding to support transit operations and security for the games.
One point two. And he wanted more. I said, can we just relax for a little while? One point two billion to transport people. Isn’t that nice? But I want to thank the White House FIFA Task Force. They’ve been really fantastic. And again, Andrew Giuliani did a fantastic job. Thank you very much.
America’s 250th Anniversary Celebrations
Hosting guests from all over the globe for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was also an incredibly special way to help kick off America’s two hundred and fifty years of freedom. We have tens of thousands of people from around the world that got to join us. We had a fantastic July 4th weekend like I think we’ve never had before. And it was only enhanced by having you here. I don’t know if you did that on purpose. I don’t think so. But it worked out fantastically.
We had an amazing crowd. Four hundred and fifty thousand people showed up to celebrate our country on a very rainy evening, and because of lightning, everybody was forced to leave. And then I said, we’re going to do it anyway, even if I have to speak at two o’clock in the morning. We called everybody back and one hundred and fifty thousand people came back. They were on their way back to Texas and Oklahoma. And we had one hundred and fifty thousand people standing in the rain late in the evening.
Somebody suggested, let’s do it on a different day, maybe in a week or two. I said, no, it doesn’t work in a week or two. It worked on the two hundred and fiftieth year. From the Scotland fans who took over the streets of Boston last month to the Argentinian supporters who cheered on Messi.
Trump on Messi, France, and the Unpredictability of Sports
How good is Messi? The hat trick in Kansas City — had the hat trick, something very rare, I guess, in your sport. That’s pretty rare, isn’t it?
To our first ally, France winning in Philadelphia on July 4th. What a game. They would seem to be — I mean, it’s life and sports — but they seem to be unbeatable. And then they didn’t beat Spain. They were the team that was favorite. They were the team that was winning, I think, probably the most easily. And then something happens. It can happen in life. It’s sports. It can happen in life, too. You’re hot as a pistol and then you’re not so hot. But I wouldn’t know about a thing like that.
No, it happens in life. You’re hot and then you’re not. But you have to always make a comeback. Right. You can never give up.
America Stronger Than Ever
It’s been a true honor for Americans to share our magnificent country with the world. And today, America, it’s stronger and wealthier and hotter than ever before. And you’re a big part of it.
Closing Remarks and Congratulations to FIFA
Once again, I want to thank Gianni and the incredible people of FIFA. They’re incredible people. Got to know some of them during this period of time. I’ll get to know some more on Sunday. And I want to congratulate every team that made the 2026 World Cup one of the all time greatest sporting events in history.
And I think beyond the sporting event, this has been not just a sporting event. This has been far beyond a sporting event. This has been something very, very special.
So good luck to Spain and Argentina on Sunday and may the best team win.
Introducing Christopher Macchio
And now it’s a pleasure. It’s really my pleasure to introduce a very talented man, the man that I cannot tell — you know, Luciano was a great friend of mine, Pavarotti, and he was a great singer. And I cannot tell the difference. The only one that tells me he’s not as good is Christopher. He says, “I’m not as good as him.” He was the greatest of all time, as I said. But Christopher Macchio is a great, great talent, a very highly respected person within the world of opera. And you’re going to hear a tremendous voice.
And again, thank you very much. And Gianni, congratulations on probably the most successful event ever held. Thank you.
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