Trump Steals Soccer’s World Cup Show
Published in RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND)
(Germany) on 20 July 2026
by Sebastian Harfst (link to
original)
At the end of the 5 1/2-week FIFA World Cup, there was ultimately one clear winner – and it was neither soccer nor – sorry, Mr. Infantino – FIFA itself.
The closing scene was mirrored the preceding 5 1/2 weeks. Someone lingered in the spotlight who, at that moment, had no business being there. But that’s just the way Donald Trump rolls. And that’s why it was not even shocking any more when the U.S. president stole the limelight from the Spanish World Cup champions after presenting the trophy with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It was entirely par for the course.
Because, let’s be honest, it’s exactly what Trump had been doing for months prior to the tournament: stealing the show from soccer and the World Cup. No matter what issue, in the end, the answer from the first World Cup hosted in three countries was usually Trump. Even Infantino’s efforts to rein in the president after the final and get Trump to leave the podium – a space strictly reserved for the winning team – were to no avail.
This was also emblematic of the stories surrounding the first supersized contest comprising 48 teams. In order to promote his product, soccer’s supreme power broker, Infantino – a man capable of implementing his marketing vision for the world’s most popular sport with virtually no opposition – utterly ingratiated himself with arguably the world’s most powerful man.
Always Trump, Trump, Trump
By last December if not earlier, Infantino’s presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize to Trump had already made a mockery of the group draw stage. Yet even the most jaded of cynics would have been dumbfounded by the string of controversies that came to overshadow the World Cup tournament. There were the deadly raids carried out by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which fueled concerns about how World Cup tourists would be treated amid preparations for the event. The administration imposed travel bans on entire groups of fans and officials from certain countries. There were inflated ticket prices, which turned the World Cup into not just a prized ticketed event, but one fans were obliged to dig deep into their pockets for. And there were restrictions on the team from Iran, Iran being the United States’ adversary in its war against the Iranian regime. Finally, there was the World Cup scandal par excellence: Trump’s telephone call to the FIFA president, with the clear intention of getting U.S. goalkeeper Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension reviewed, something for which the FIFA president was duly rewarded.
In the end, none of this benefits the game itself. It’s the promoters who profit the most.
It was always Trump, Trump, Trump at every turn. The mere fact that the U.S. president didn’t show up at a stadium for a single one of the 103 games before the final match came up repeatedly during the news coverage, just like the jeering and whistles that echoed throughout the stadium after the final, as Trump and Infantino made their way onto the pitch for the winners’ presentation ceremony.
The public is wise to what’s being done right before its eyes, but largely powerless to stop any of it. After all, the profit motive is alive and well at the heart of Infantino’s system. Under his tenure, FIFA has reportedly earned $13 billion from the 23rd World Cup. That’s to say, the bottom line justifies some of the means. It’s the reason officials turned a blind eye to such game-changing interventions as the hydration breaks. And why the final match got a Superbowl kind of half-time show. It’s also the reason Infantino will probably increase the number of competing teams again from 48 to 64.
Ultimately, none of this benefits soccer. It’s primarily the promoters who profit from the bonanza. The half-time show was there to make sure that the soccer fans, who would normally have scoffed at watching a FIFA World Cup final, tuned in. And the fans for whom soccer was always the main event, were going to watch it anyway despite the half-time glitz.
Trump enjoyed the whole experience so much that he told his buddy Infantino he wants to see the World Cup return to the United States in the immediate future. He learned how the commercial platform soccer serves him personally.
It’s a real shame about the effect on the game. Because it’s soccer that is taking the hit.
The closing scene was mirrored the preceding 5 1/2 weeks. Someone lingered in the spotlight who, at that moment, had no business being there. But that’s just the way Donald Trump rolls. And that’s why it was not even shocking any more when the U.S. president stole the limelight from the Spanish World Cup champions after presenting the trophy with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. It was entirely par for the course.
Because, let’s be honest, it’s exactly what Trump had been doing for months prior to the tournament: stealing the show from soccer and the World Cup. No matter what issue, in the end, the answer from the first World Cup hosted in three countries was usually Trump. Even Infantino’s efforts to rein in the president after the final and get Trump to leave the podium – a space strictly reserved for the winning team – were to no avail.
This was also emblematic of the stories surrounding the first supersized contest comprising 48 teams. In order to promote his product, soccer’s supreme power broker, Infantino – a man capable of implementing his marketing vision for the world’s most popular sport with virtually no opposition – utterly ingratiated himself with arguably the world’s most powerful man.
Always Trump, Trump, Trump
By last December if not earlier, Infantino’s presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize to Trump had already made a mockery of the group draw stage. Yet even the most jaded of cynics would have been dumbfounded by the string of controversies that came to overshadow the World Cup tournament. There were the deadly raids carried out by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which fueled concerns about how World Cup tourists would be treated amid preparations for the event. The administration imposed travel bans on entire groups of fans and officials from certain countries. There were inflated ticket prices, which turned the World Cup into not just a prized ticketed event, but one fans were obliged to dig deep into their pockets for. And there were restrictions on the team from Iran, Iran being the United States’ adversary in its war against the Iranian regime. Finally, there was the World Cup scandal par excellence: Trump’s telephone call to the FIFA president, with the clear intention of getting U.S. goalkeeper Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension reviewed, something for which the FIFA president was duly rewarded.
In the end, none of this benefits the game itself. It’s the promoters who profit the most.
It was always Trump, Trump, Trump at every turn. The mere fact that the U.S. president didn’t show up at a stadium for a single one of the 103 games before the final match came up repeatedly during the news coverage, just like the jeering and whistles that echoed throughout the stadium after the final, as Trump and Infantino made their way onto the pitch for the winners’ presentation ceremony.
The public is wise to what’s being done right before its eyes, but largely powerless to stop any of it. After all, the profit motive is alive and well at the heart of Infantino’s system. Under his tenure, FIFA has reportedly earned $13 billion from the 23rd World Cup. That’s to say, the bottom line justifies some of the means. It’s the reason officials turned a blind eye to such game-changing interventions as the hydration breaks. And why the final match got a Superbowl kind of half-time show. It’s also the reason Infantino will probably increase the number of competing teams again from 48 to 64.
Ultimately, none of this benefits soccer. It’s primarily the promoters who profit from the bonanza. The half-time show was there to make sure that the soccer fans, who would normally have scoffed at watching a FIFA World Cup final, tuned in. And the fans for whom soccer was always the main event, were going to watch it anyway despite the half-time glitz.
Trump enjoyed the whole experience so much that he told his buddy Infantino he wants to see the World Cup return to the United States in the immediate future. He learned how the commercial platform soccer serves him personally.
It’s a real shame about the effect on the game. Because it’s soccer that is taking the hit.
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