Trump prepares Russians' return to the World Cup – and FIFA looks on helplessly

Donald Trump has declared the 2026 FIFA World Cup his personal stage. Moving the draw from Las Vegas to Washington, to the Kennedy Center, which he controls, is only the most visible act of appropriation. Far more disturbing is his casual announcement that Vladimir Putin could appear as a guest at the tournament – ​​despite his war criminal status and despite Russia's ban from international football.

The scene in the Oval Office exposes the balance of power: While Trump rants about Putin, tariff disputes, and crime rates, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stands silently by. The most powerful man in world football is reduced to a mere wingman , unable or unwilling to defend the sporting integrity of his tournament. Since February 2022, Russian teams have been banned from FIFA and UEFA—one of the few consistent responses in sports to the war of aggression. Trump now threatens to weaken this clear stance.

The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest for alleged war crimes. The fact that the United States is not a member of the ICC and is not required to execute the arrest warrant does not make Trump's speculation any less explosive. He is instrumentalizing the World Cup for his foreign policy, linking Putin's possible participation to the outcome of peace negotiations. The Alaska meeting between the two presidents a week earlier shows that Trump means business.

FIFA has placed itself in a fatal dependency. It needs the USA to host the bloated 48-team tournament and cannot afford conflict. So Infantino remains silent while Trump turns the World Cup into a geopolitical pawn. Football, which likes to portray itself as a unifying force, is becoming a tool of power politics.

Particularly perfidious: Washington isn't even a World Cup host city. Trump is holding the draw in his capital, even though not a single match is being played there. He's not interested in football, but in control and staging. The actual hosts, Canada and Mexico, to whom he graciously said he ceded "a small piece" of the World Cup, are being relegated to marginal figures.

While Trump is playing his power games, the German national team is preparing for qualifying. Starting in September, they'll face Slovakia, Northern Ireland, and Luxembourg – only the group winner will advance directly to the World Cup. A sporting competition with clear rules. Exactly what FIFA should be protecting, instead of allowing itself to be manipulated by autocrats.