US President Donald Trump on 18 July 2026 declared that the United States has become a football nation, citing record-breaking attendance and viewership figures at the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Speaking at a FIFA reception in New York ahead of Sunday's final, Trump called the tournament the most successful sporting event in history.

Trump's Remarks at the FIFA Reception

“We’re not a soccer country. It turned out we were a soccer country, and I think it’s going to remain,” Trump said at the reception, using the American term ‘soccer’ — the word commonly used in the United States for what the rest of the world calls football. The president described the 2026 FIFA World Cup as “the most successful sporting event, maybe in the history of the world.”

Trump credited FIFA President Gianni Infantino and more than 50 US federal departments and agencies with delivering the tournament. He also praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, noting that the State Department had expedited thousands of visas for World Cup ticket holders. The administration, he said, had secured more than $1.2 billion for transport operations and security.

Record Attendance and Viewership

Trump said more than 6.5 million spectators attended the tournament — exceeding the combined attendance of the previous two World Cups. Fans from 200 countries watched 104 matches across 16 cities in the three host nations. “By the time the final whistle sounds on Sunday, nearly 6 billion viewers will have watched this World Cup,” Trump said. “That’s a record by many, many times over.”

Infantino corroborated the scale, saying seven million people had watched matches inside stadiums, while tens of millions more joined fan celebrations in host cities. “We united the world in America,” Infantino said. “Everyone that came here enjoyed it. Everyone that stayed home enjoyed it, as well.”

FIFA President Lauds US Administration

Infantino offered an expansive assessment of the tournament's significance. “This World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you,” he told Trump. “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.”

The remarks came ahead of Saturday's third-place match between England and France, and Sunday's final between defending champions Argentina and Spain. Trump confirmed he would attend the final alongside First Lady Melania Trump.

Historic Scale of the 2026 Tournament

The 2026 World Cup is the first men's edition to feature 48 teams, expanded from the previous format of 32, and the first to be hosted across three countries. The United States, Canada, and Mexico were awarded hosting rights in 2018. The US previously hosted the men's World Cup in 1994, Canada hosted the women's tournament in 2015, and Mexico hosted the men's competition in 1970 and 1986.

With the final still to be played, the tournament's full commercial and cultural legacy is expected to be assessed in the weeks ahead — and could reshape football's footprint in North America for a generation.