Former President Trump speculated that Vladimir Putin may attend the 2026 World Cup despite Russia’s ban from FIFA competitions.
Trump’s comments came during the announcement of the World Cup draw location at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
Russia was banned from FIFA following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and did not participate in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
Despite Russia being banned from FIFA competitions, Donald Trump said he thinks that Vladimir Putin will attend the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Aug. 22 to announce that the draw for the World Cup would be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Trump showed off a photo of himself and the Russian president from the historic summit in Alaska and suggested that Putin would come to next summer’s tournament.
Trump said he believes Putin ‘will be coming, depending on what happens’ but did not elaborate beyond reiterating that he ‘may be coming and he may not, depending on what happens.’
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, standing beside Trump as he made the remarks in the Oval Office, did not comment on the possibility of Putin attending.
Russia was banned from competing in FIFA and UEFA competitions following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and it didn’t participate in qualification for the 2026 tournament.
Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup and Putin took on a large public-facing role during the festivities. He spoke at the opening ceremony and was on the field for trophy presentations following France’s win over Croatia in the final.