Donald Trump’s US presidential election win creates fresh controversy for FIFA World Cup 2026 planning

The upcoming World Cup will also see Donald Trump present the trophy to the winners, after he sealed a historic victory in the US presidential election this week, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris.

But with Trump’s win, FIFA also has a matter to deal with. During his campaign, Trump revealed that the visa applications would get harder, which means the wait time will be more lengthy now, which could impact fan travel during the World Cup.

The bidding and lobbying efforts for the 2026 World Cup took place during Trump’s previous presidency tenure from 2016-20.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. USA, Canada and Mexico formed the United 2026 bid, which beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow.

The 16 host cities have already been announced by FIFA, and they are Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Miami.

The total number of matches played will increase from 64 to 104, and the number of games played by teams reaching the final four will increase from seven to eight. The tournament will last for 39 days, an increase from 32 days of the 2014 and 2018 editions. Each side will still play three group matches. Argentina are the defending champions, having beaten France in a thrilling penalty shootout victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.