Soccer-Kennedy Center to host 2026 World Cup draw, Trump announces

By Andrea Shalal and Frank Pingue

WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington will host the 2026 World Cup draw in a televised event at noon EST on December 5, kicking off a year of more than 100 U.S.-hosted soccer matches.

"It's a tremendous honor to bring this global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes - the best athletes in the world - to the cultural center of our nation's capital," Trump said in the Oval Office, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem, along with Richard Grenell, a special presidential envoy who also heads the Kennedy Center.

"We are uniting the world, Mr. President, uniting the world, here in America, and we are very proud of that," Infantino said, before letting Trump hold the golden World Cup trophy. He said 1 billion viewers worldwide were expected to watch the 2026 draw.

"Can I keep it?" joked Trump, who has redone the Oval Office to add more gold decorations. "That's a beautiful piece of gold." He also repeated a joke about renaming the center as the Trump/Kennedy Center.

Earlier on Friday, Trump announced that the World Cup 2026 would have its primary office in the Kennedy Center.

Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and head of the White House World Cup task force, was also present at the event.

Trump is overseeing a $257 million renovation at the Kennedy Center, which he has said would be a centerpiece of the 250th U.S. anniversary celebrations next year, coinciding with the World Cup games.

"We're spending a lot of money, wisely, on making it really beautiful. It's going to be beautiful again," Trump said.

The 2026 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the first with 48 teams and will feature 104 matches.

Trump said the event would draw more than $30 billion into the U.S. economy, creating more than 185,000 jobs. Noem said the U.S. government would work to ensure proper vetting and visa procedures for the estimated 6 million fans likely to attend.

Canada will host 13 games, including 10 in the group stage split evenly between Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will also get 13 games, including 10 during the group stage in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The rest of the tournament will be held in 11 cities across the United States.

FIFA, global soccer's governing body, has already put boots on the ground in the United States in preparation for the quadrennial spectacle, with field offices in Miami and at New York's Trump Tower.

Trump, asked if he would be the person drawing the names on December 5, gestured to Infantino. "That's up to him. He's the boss," he said.

The FIFA chief replied: "That's an interesting proposal. We'll discuss that."