The NAFTA World Cup

One of these days we will end up thanking FIFA for the renegotiation and signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

One of these days.

While the commercial relationship in North America is now floundering, in the future this joint regional path will strengthen far beyond the whims of a president. What will Mexico be like in 2026? Who will govern the United States? Who will govern Canada? We do not know the names of those who will be in charge of these three countries. The president we will choose on July 1 will be two years out office by then. And in the hypothetical case that Trump is re-elected, he also will have finished his second term.

However, this region is linked by more than trade and a treaty.

It’s linked by sports, and by American tourists who love Mexican beaches. It is linked by Mexicans who enjoy the mountains of Canada, and by students who seek to expand their development in their partners who live north of us. It is also linked by those who come to our country to seek firm ground and expand their knowledge. They are painters, artists, actors, actresses and singers who have made this region their center of operations, who find their market here, their niche. Mexico, the United States and Canada are the atmosphere where ideas, dreams and passions are exchanged. They are the citizens of the three countries who cross each other’s borders, legally or illegally, will continue to do so because there are no walls that stop hope and the desire for progress. We form a region that is united not only for commercial reasons, as important as that is.

Diego Petersen wrote yesterday, “What no president or prime minister can change, whether foolish or intelligent, xenophobic or open, are the more than $1 trillion that is exchanged each year among the three countries, nor the more than $1 million in merchandise that every minute crosses the border from here to there and from there to here. What no president can change is how important we are to each other and that together, the three of us together are worth more than just us alone.”*

And what unites us most, if not emotions? Just like art, sport is one of those escape valves where we find common ground, and where we recognize ourselves as a species. The organization of the first World Cup with three host countries could not find better protagonists. Because we are a region that will not split up despite the decisions of one person, and with 2026 already marked by one of the greatest worldwide events, we are a region with additional reasons to cling to a fraternal relationship.

And to show his support, Donald Trump tweeted after the announcement made by FIFA, “The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations – a great deal of hard work!”

Trump knows the importance of the tripartite relationship. “I’m not going to talk about politics, but I want to say that football is so powerful that it united the three countries to make a proposal that was voted on today. Today, football sent a strong message, the ball flies up and there are no barriers that stop it,” said Decio de María, president of the Mexican Football Federation.

And just as the sports authorities lobbied to make this a reality, I have been told that Arturo Sarukhán, the former Mexican ambassador to the United States, did a lot of work to make it happen, too.

The ways to oil the relationship of the region is a mixture of the political work that is enriched by the other collaborative efforts that form the North American fraternity. Maybe in eight years there will be an overcharged NAFTA, done just for a World Cup that, for 30 days, will keep the world united thanks to the work and hospitality of this region.

*Editor’s note: Diego Petersen is a columnist for the Mexican publication Informador.mx.