World Cup 2026: Why did Donald Trump stay away from the World Cup?

It is expected by many that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, will regularly attend the World Cup.

However, the United States team has won two of its three group games and qualified for the finals, but has yet to appear in a single match.

So is it surprising? Why is it so far away? And will it appear before the end? BBC Sport takes a closer look.

“My fellow Americans, citizens of the world, the United States is honored to host this incredible event. The World Cup has captured our nation’s imagination, as has the game for the past few years…so I welcome everyone from every country and every continent to watch these games in America for the next 30 days.”

In the year On June 17, 1994, President Bill Clinton’s remarks at the opening match of the first World Cup for the United States at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Diana Ross’s missed ‘penalty shot’ at the pre-race festival is more likely to be remembered than Clinton’s address, but his presence now seems more noteworthy.

Because after 32 years, the country is organizing the event again, but after the middle of the competition, the current president has left.

Earlier this month, Trump praised the number of tickets sold by FIFA, calling it “the most successful World Cup ever”, reinforcing the view that it will be a highly watched and highly anticipated event.

After all, during the construction period, the competition seemed very important to him. He He even referenced it., External In his speech at a rally held on the eve of the presidential inauguration earlier last year.

And Trump played a central role at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in December, where FIFA’s first Peace Prize was awarded by the governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino.

The two men have developed a close relationship in recent years, with Infantino being welcomed to both the Oval Office and Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.

Trump has been a regular at other major sporting events in the US during his second term, from the Super Bowl and last summer’s Club World Cup final to the opening day of golf’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage.

However, the president will be conspicuously absent following the opening ceremony when the United States play their opening match against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, with Secretary of State Mark Rubio traveling from Washington instead.

Trump appears to have prioritized the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event two days later on the White House lawn, celebrating his 80th birthday and America’s 250th.