The United States is currently co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, believes the United States could host a 64-team tournament.
The US may aim to host the 2038 World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
The head of the current tournament’s U.S. task force says the United States has everything it needs to host a 64-team World Cup and could very well consider bidding for the 2038 tournament.
Currently, the United States is co-hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico. In 2030, Europe, Africa, and South America will share responsibility for hosting the event, and in 2034, Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host the event in Asia, potentially setting the stage for a new bid from North America in 12 years.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, said it was too early to work on a bid again, but he was confident the United States had everything it needed to play that role again in the not-too-distant future. This comes as fans in the United States speculate on how far Mauricio Pochettino’s team will advance in the World Cup.
“This is something I’ve talked about with President Trump and many members of his Cabinet: I think there’s no better country to host the World Cup than the United States, and I think that’s reflected on social media,” he told the Press Association.
“I think for the fans who are interacting with the United States for the first time or the first time in a long time, they know that the United States is really, really welcoming and that we have such a great infrastructure.
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“We’re building stadiums, so compared to other host countries, it cost billions of dollars, compared to tens of billions, tens of billions of dollars for the United States.
“Given that this World Cup could expand to 64 teams at some point, I think the U.S. can handle that.
Andrew Giuliani is part of President Trump’s World Cup preparation team (Image: Win McNamee, Getty Images)
“I want to make sure we get through this World Cup on July 19th before we step on the field for 2038 and other tournaments. But as someone who went to a few World Cup games in 1994 when I was 8 years old, I couldn’t be happier to see this tournament come back to the United States in the coming decades.”
Human rights groups expressed concerns before the convention about the potential impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policies on both domestic and visiting supporters, but so far the overall mood in the host city has been largely positive.
Mr. Giuliani expressed his delight at how the first few weeks of the competition had unfolded, saying, “It’s so wonderful to see the world’s love for the United States of America on the occasion of our 250th birthday. It’s very gratifying.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that President Donald Trump will attend the final on July 19 in New Jersey. President Trump has not yet appeared at any games, but Giuliani did not rule out the possibility of him appearing before the championship game.
“I want to tell you something about my boss, our 47th president. I’ve known him for almost 30 years, and he loves cliffhangers,” Giuliani said. “He likes to keep you on the edge of your seat. So all I would say to people is, listen and I think you’re going to see some surprises.”
