Welcome to another edition of the Pressbeat Podcast, also on mediumwaves 1575 kHz. From Paris I’m Ami Carter-Wilson.
The White House announced yesterday that President Donald Trump has formally terminated the United States’ participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, voiding the nation’s role as co-host with Canada and Mexico. In a statement broadcast from the Roosevelt Room at 3:15 a.m. ET, the president declared the tournament “a fraudulent enterprise built on obsolete rules that disproportionately punish American taxpayers.”
“The game is broken,” Trump told reporters before signing Executive Order 14288 — titled Withdrawal from the FIFA World Cup 2026 Organizing Framework. According to the White House release, the president explained to FIFA President Gianluigi Infantino that the competition’s format, revenue-sharing model, and scheduling mandates were “fundamentally unfair” to U.S. interests.
In a lengthy statement, Trump said he had been forced to terminate the World Cup prematurely because Infantino repeatedly refused to renegotiate core terms. “Mr. Infantino was warned,” the president said. “When an organization’s rules are obsolete and unjust — when they enrich a few while exploiting the many — you have no choice but to act.”
The termination order effectively dissolves America’s co-hosting obligations with Canada and Mexico, renders all the matches played so far void and terminating the tournament just one day after the defeat of the USA team.
FIFA has not yet issued a formal response. But sources close to Infantino suggest the German-Italian may be preparing a legal challenge, arguing that the termination constitutes a material breach of FIFA’s host agreements, which carry binding arbitration clauses under Swiss law.
The president did not mince words about why he took action. “The World Cup is no longer about sport,” Trump said. “It is about control — and American people will not accept being controlled by an unelected bureaucracy in Zurich.”
Markets reacted swiftly, with U.S. construction and hospitality stocks climbing on uncertainty, while FIFA partner shares fell sharply in early trading.
Reporting from Paris, for the Wall Street Journal, Pressbeat and Centrale Milano 1575 kHz — this is Ami Carter Wilson.