Donald Trump meets FIFA president Gianni Infantino at White House
"Soccer has to be one of the fastest growing sports in the world" - Trump
Wednesday 29 August 2018 10:29, UK
FIFA president Gianni Infantino paid US President Donald Trump a visit at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the US World Cup in 2026.
Infantino presented Trump with an official FIFA shirt with his name and the No 26 on the back as well as giving the leader of the free world a referee's notebook - showing him a red card.
The USA will host the World Cup in 2026 with Canada and Mexico as football's biggest tournament returns Stateside for the first time since 1994.
When asked about the US hosting the World Cup, Trump said: "Soccer has come such a long way, I guess you call it football, but over here we call it soccer. Maybe someday they'll change the name? I'm not sure, we'll see. It's working very well either way.
"I want to thank Gianni Infantino for being here - he's the president of FIFA and a highly respected man. In fact, when my son heard he was going to be here, he said 'Dad, I'd like to meet him'."
Turning to Infantino, he added: "So you're pretty famous right?
"Soccer has to be one of the fastest growing sports in the world and the job you've done is really fantastic Gianni.
"I have to also thank Bob Kraft. He originally called me and said, 'what do you think about trying to get the World Cup to the United States?' I said I'd really like it and we got Canada and Mexico involved.
"We're going to have a great partnership and it's going to be very special, I look forward to it.
"Let's see, in 2026 I won't be here [as President]. Maybe they'll extend the term? If they don't extend it, the media is going to be very boring, they'll all be out of business I guess."
