US President Donald Trump will attend the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday in Washington, D.C., which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Trump's presence at the ceremony held at the Kennedy Center in the American capital has been confirmed by his spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt.
The World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico is the first with 48 teams.
Since taking office at the beginning of the year, Trump has repeatedly addressed issues related to soccer. In the summer, at the Club World Cup, Trump often appeared alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
The draw ceremony is expected to be grand. The pots have already been determined, and Kosovo will also be part of the draw. In fact, in addition to the already qualified representatives, the draw will also include representatives who are in the playoffs, and who consequently could be in the World Cup next year.
The winners of the European playoff draw will be in the fourth pot.
The draw is expected to include representatives from most of the federations that have teams in the World Cup and those in the playoffs. But not all.
Iran and Haiti are the two countries participating in the World Cup that have travel restrictions in the US, based on the list released by Trump in June.
There are reports that nine Iranian officials, including the federation president and the coach, will not be allowed to attend the draw ceremony. Some media outlets have reported that Iran may boycott the draw ceremony altogether if visas for the required individuals are not granted.
FIFA President Infantino has shown great closeness to Trump in recent months. And for this he has been criticized by various football personalities.
The World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 next year. The matches will be played in 16 different cities. Until now, the World Cup had 32 representatives.