Trump present – FIFA President Gianni Infantino says President Donald Trump is expected to present the 2026 World Cup trophy at the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, handing it to the winning team’s captain. The announcement lands amid fresh memories of Trump
SEATTLE — When the 2026 World Cup trophy is awarded on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, President Donald Trump is set to be there.
That expectation comes directly from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said in January that he expected Trump to present the trophy to the winner at the final.
“This trophy will be handed out on the 19th of July to the captain of the team who will win the World Cup,” Infantino said. “I will give it together with the President of the United States, the host country. Nobody can touch this trophy.”
The language is specific about the moment: the trophy is handed out on July 19, presented alongside the host country’s leadership, and reserved for a tightly controlled ceremony in which “nobody can touch this trophy.”
Infantino’s remarks also place Trump in a long line of world leaders who have attended trophy presentations. Russian President Vladimir Putin was present in 2018 as France collected the trophy, while Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, attended in 2022 when Qatar’s emir did the same.
For Trump, though, there’s a risk of higher visibility than past leaders—an issue that players may remember from a recent trophy moment.
Last July. Trump crashed the trophy presentation of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup after Chelsea’s 3-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain. After Trump stayed on the stage longer than expected. Chelsea captain Reece James turned to the president and asked. “Are you going to leave?” Chelsea forward Cole Palmer added. “I knew he was going to be there. but I didn’t know he was going be on the stand where we lift the trophy. So, I was a bit confused.”.
The contrast between Infantino’s promise of a controlled presentation and the memory of a disrupted one hangs over the lead-up to MetLife Stadium this summer.
The sequence of facts is hard to miss: Infantino sets a strict plan for July 19. while Trump’s previous trophy appearance at a major FIFA final ceremony left players reacting in real time on the podium. With Trump expected to stand alongside FIFA leadership for the 2026 handoff. the question for teams is less about whether a president attends—and more about how the spotlight is managed in the few minutes after the final whistle.
As the 2026 tournament approaches, players may show up already scanning for the exact detail Infantino emphasized: who will stand where, and who will touch—or be allowed to touch—the trophy. And if history is any guide, some may be watching for whether the ceremony stays fully on-script.
2026 FIFA World Cup Donald Trump Gianni Infantino MetLife Stadium trophy presentation FIFA Reece James Cole Palmer Chelsea Paris Saint-Germain 2025 FIFA Club World Cup