World Cup planners have long expected President Donald Trump will come to one or more matches. Now we know, thanks to FIFA head Gianni Infantino, that Trump will be at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to hand out the gold trophy after the final match concludes. The July 19 event will be one more test…
LOS ANGELES — President Donald Trump has stayed away from the World Cup after making himself the main character of the months leading up to it. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum prominently gave away her tickets to Mexico’s matches in what was seen as a populist rebuke to FIFA. But one North American leader is reveling…
LOS ANGELES — Despite months of controversy beforehand, Friday’s encounter in Seattle did not turn out to be much of a “Pride Match” at all. Expressions of sexual and gender identity were sparse in the crowd, perhaps due to the random lottery pairing of Iran and Egypt, which have two of the world’s least hospitable…
This host-city honcho has been ubiquitous through the World Cup. Before the tournament began, he appeared with a member of his national team’s squad to announce that his city had partnered with FIFA to give away a limited number of $50 match tickets to local residents. That’s New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a…
NEW YORK — As South Korea’s largest automobile manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Group is known for its cars. But now, as one of FIFA’s longest-running commercial partners, it’s using the World Cup stage to announce a new focus: robots. That ambition is clearly laid out in the FIFA Museum presented by Hyundai in New York City….
Political campaigns and committees spent $740,330 on World Cup advertising during the first two U.S. matches, according to an analysis by AdImpact for POLITICO. An artificial intelligence regulation PAC and two political groups allied with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) emerged among the top spenders on TV ads. Jobs and Democracy PAC, led by former Reps….
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney celebrated his country’s knockout victory over South Africa on Sunday afternoon, posting — in English and in French, of course — that the squad were, “True Canadian heroes,” and adding, “What a game. What a team. What a country.” Politics
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has notched a lead in the 2028 World Cup primary, having attended three matches leading into the knockout round — just ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In an interview with POLITICO this week at the FIFA Fan Festival at Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill, Shapiro reveled in Philadelphia’s host…
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico praised the country’s national soccer team after its elimination from the FIFA World Cup, while also highlighting the controversial video review decisions that influenced the outcome of the tournament. In a lengthy statement to POLITICO, Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh argued that Iran battled not only its opponents but also “fatigue, injustice, and…
When USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino took out a laptop during the first hydration break of the friendly against Senegal, people wondered what would become of these pauses of play. Is it a four-quarter game? Which team will it benefit? “After the U.S.-Senegal game, there was this talk of people going to have the laptop…
