Administration of Donald J. Trump, 2025
Mr. Infantino. Hello. You can clap because this is the last time that you will see me on stage today. I promise I don't come back.
But actually, we are here—you've been reading a lot of things—I don't know how I should say that, to be honest—you've been reading a lot of things about the draw and who will be the draw assistants and who will make the draw and so on.
Well, it all changed. We just had a meeting. We decided we change it all. We do the draw in a different way. We start now. Things got—I found three great draw assistants, and I would like to call them now on stage so that we can proceed finally with a draw. I used to make draws in a previous life, so I like that.
And I call now the draw assistants. Please be indulgent with them. They don't have that experience to make draws yet.
Here we are. First, please welcome on stage, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.
Prime Minister Carney. Thank you, my friend. Yes. I go behind, yes?
Mr. Infantino. You can go behind. Behind, yes.
Prime Minister Carney. Yes.
[At this point, Mr. Infantino spoke in Spanish; no translation was provided.] Mr. Infantino. La presidenta de Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.
President Sheinbaum. Thank you, again.
[Mr. Infantino spoke in Spanish; no translation was provided.] Mr. Infantino. Buenos noches.
And now, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump.
Mr. President, this way. This way. Or this way, whatever—you can do what you want. [Laughter] This is your place.
President Trump. Okay.
Mr. Infantino. So this is the World Cup trophy. This is the official ball for the World Cup.
And we are now going to do the draw, ladies and gentlemen.
But before that, as is customary, there is always the question that the moderator asks the draw assistant. So I would like to start with Mr. Carney.
How big a deal is it to cohost the World Cup for Canada?
Prime Minister Carney. Oh.
Mr. Infantino. Difficult question, I know, but——
Prime Minister Carney. [Laughter] It is the biggest of deals, Gianni. You know, it's the number-one sport for Canadian boys and girls. Two-thirds of the country watched the last World Cup.
And we are partnered with the United States and Mexico welcoming the world. There's more than 200 nationalities in Canada, more than 200 nationalities in FIFA. The top 48 are coming to North America. It is going to be the biggest deal ever. [Laughter]
Mr. Infantino. Fantastic. Thank you so much. President Sheinbaum——
[Mr. Infantino and President Sheinbaum both made remarks in Spanish; no translation was provided.]
President Trump. [Laughter] Good job.
Mr. Infantino. Mr. President—President Trump, next summer is historic for the United States in more than one way. What does it mean to you that the FIFA World Cup is actually taking place in the United States 250th birthday?
President Trump. Well——
Mr. Infantino. It's special.
President Trump. ——for years, Gianni, they've thought soccer—or football—would be so big, so fast. And I remember—I shouldn't say this, because it was a long time ago, but I remember watching Pelé play on a team called the Cosmos. Pelé, who was fantastic, as you know. I assume one of the greats.
Mr. Infantino. Oh, yes, Pelé.
President Trump. And he was—he was——
Mr. Infantino. Let's applaud Pelé, please.
President Trump. ——one of the greatest. And he scored three goals that day. I said, "That man can play." That was—I was pretty young at that point.
And who know this—who knew this was going to happen, but when you look at what has happened to football in the United States—it's, again, "soccer" in the United States. We seem to never call it that because we have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that's called football. But when you think about it, shouldn't it really be called—I mean, this is football. There's no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff——
Mr. Infantino. Yes. Yes.
President Trump. ——because it really doesn't make sense, when you think about it. It is really football.
But who would have thought it would have come to a level where you've set your all-time season ticket ratings? Nobody's ever sold as many tickets, and you're still a long way from that ball being kicked down the field.
So I just want to congratulate you. What an incredible leap this has been. And congratulations to FIFA.
Mr. Infantino. Thank you. Thank you, President. Big round of applause.
And the best is still to come, of course. So let's start with the draw. I will just show you how it works. I've done a few of them. Don't be scared, right? [Laughter]
And so, you have to basically mingle the balls a little bit. You can see, I show this for the public. You see? Mingle.
And then, one by one—we start with Mr. Carney—you'll pick one. [Prime Minister Carney began the draw.]
Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait. [Laughter]
You open it. You see, there is a little paper inside. You take out the paper. These two things, you can throw them in here. And then you can show to the public what you have drawn, which for me, is FIFA, of course. I am just the moderator.
Mr. Carney, do you want to start?
Prime Minister Carney. I'm ready.
Mr. Infantino. Don't forget. And pick the right ball, please. [Prime Minister Carney drew.]
Aha, already chosen.
Okay. Let's see which team will be drawn by Mr. Mark Carney.
Prime Minister Carney. Oh, oh, oh! [Laughter]
Mr. Infantino. Oh, Canada! Oh! Congratulations. Canada, ladies and gentlemen, the first team drawn in this World Cup. Group B1 for Canada, by the way.
We can continue, por favor. President Sheinbaum. Okay.
[Mr. Infantino spoke in Spanish; no translation was provided. President Sheinbaum then drew and spoke in Spanish as follows; no translation was provided.]
President Sheinbaum. Ay, vive México! Mr. Infantino. Ay, México! México!
President Trump, up to you. Don't forget to mingle.
President Trump. Yes.
Mr. Infantino. To mix.
President Trump. I think I know what this is going to be now. [Laughter]
Mr. Infantino. Everything. President Trump. But let's see. [President Trump drew.]
Mr. Infantino. Are you sure? Are you sure this is the ball?
President Trump. I——
Mr. Infantino. You want—you can still change it if you want.
President Trump. Hmm. Does he know something that I don't know? [Laughter] Let's give it a shot, Gianni.
Mr. Infantino. Let's give it a shot. Let's give it a shot, I agree. Okay.
President Trump. This is shocking. [Laughter]
Mr. Infantino. United States of America! Excellent. Group D1. Can I ask all the three of you to lift like——
President Trump. Yes. Yes.
President Sheinbaum. Okay.
Mr. Infantino. ——this on your chest? In front of your chest, like this? Yes, the name of the country, and we will give a nice photo.
[President Trump, President Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Carney, and Mr. Infantino posed for a photograph.]
Excellent.
And if I can ask you to come in front here for another photo, with the paper——
President Sheinbaum. Okay.
Mr. Infantino. ——con el papelito, por favor. There. Here, where you can see the——President Trump. Okay.
Mr. Infantino. Voilà.
Here for another photo, so that everyone can see——
Prime Minister Carney. There we are.
Mr. Infantino. ——what you have drawn. Here we are.
[President Trump, President Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Carney, and Mr. Infantino posed for a photograph.]
Thank you very much.
Prime Minister Carney. [Inaudible]
Mr. Infantino. Well done. Congratulations. Great assistance. If I may take a selfie with the three of you. [Laughter] President Trump. All right. Good. Come.
Mr. Infantino. Come on. Come, come.
[President Trump, President Sheinbaum, Prime Minister Carney, and Mr. Infantino posed for a photograph.]
Thank you very much.
President Trump. Thank you. Thank you. President Sheinbaum. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Infantino. Let's go. [Laughter]
Prime Minister Carney. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at approximately 12:50 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because the audio was incomplete.
Categories: Addresses and Remarks : Fédération Internationale des Associations de Football 2026 World Cup Drawing; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Mexico, President Sheinbaum; Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Canada, Prime Minister Carney.
Locations: Washington, DC.
Names: Carney, Mark; Infantino, Giovanni V.; Sheinbaum Pardo, Claudia.
Subjects: Carney, Prime Minister; Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup; Mexico, President; Soccer.
DCPD Number: DCPD202501164.