
Donald Trump, attending the 2026 World Cup final in New York, expressed his satisfaction with the tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He witnessed Spain's victory over Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium and participated in the medal and trophy ceremony alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Trump praised the event as one of the greatest sporting spectacles ever organized, commending FIFA and its president for their work and highlighting how the competition showcased the United States to global visitors. He also revealed his intention to submit a new bid for the United States to host a future World Cup, planning discussions with Gianni Infantino to bring the prestigious football competition back to the country. Trump admitted he had underestimated the tournament's popularity, having initially worried about stadium attendance, but these concerns were dispelled by the high turnout throughout the event. Despite the positive assessment from organizers, the 2026 World Cup faced criticism regarding excessive security measures, match schedules, controversial referee decisions, hydration breaks due to heat, and high ticket prices. Some delegations also raised concerns about the organization. Nevertheless, FIFA and the United States consider this edition a success and are already looking to host another World Cup in the coming years.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.
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The FIFA World Cup 2026 achieved a historic attendance of 6.81 million spectators, surpassing the 1994 record of 3.58 million. This record was driven by the new 48-team format. FIFA projects record revenues of over 7 billion euros for 2026, a 56% increase from 2022 and 67% from 2018. FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted that seven million people were in stadiums, ten million in the streets of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and billions watched on television. Stadiums maintained a 99.7% occupancy rate despite high ticket prices. Television audience records were also broken globally, though specific figures were not yet released. The 2022 World Cup final in Qatar had 1.5 billion viewers. For 2026, TV rights were expected to increase by 34% to nearly 4 billion dollars, and partnerships by 21%. FIFA estimates that 5.2 billion people interacted with the competition by the round of 16. Of the 3.7 billion dollars FIFA planned to spend, a quarter was allocated to participating teams and clubs, with the overall tournament prize money increased by 15% to 871 million dollars. The winner was set to receive 50 million dollars, and each participating team guaranteed a minimum of 12.5 million dollars. Discussions are underway for a potential expansion to a 64-team format for the 2030 World Cup, which will be hosted across multiple countries including Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin has expressed concerns about such an ex