WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Friday the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will host the 2026 World Cup draw in a televised event at noon EST on Dec 5, kicking off a year of more than 100 US-hosted football matches.
“It’s a tremendous honor to bring this global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes – the best athletes in the world – to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” Trump said in the Oval Office, flanked by vice president JD Vance, Fifa president Gianni Infantino and homeland security secretary Kristy Noem, along with Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy who also heads the Kennedy Center.
“We are uniting the world, Mr. President, uniting the world, here in America, and we are very proud of that,” Infantino said, before letting Trump hold the golden World Cup trophy. He said 1 billion viewers worldwide were expected to watch the 2026 draw.