United States President Donald Trump appeared on stage during several segments preceding the 2026 World Cup draw(Image: Photo by Mandel NGAN – Pool/Getty Images)
United States President Donald Trump declared that Americans need to find another name for American Football during Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw.
“When you look at what has happened to football in the United States, 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,” Trump said on stage after he made a blunder while receiving a ‘cringe’ award.
“But when you think about it, shouldn’t it really be called football? This is football, there’s no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff. It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”
The president’s declaration was met with subdued claps from the audience at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., which included the likes of former NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning.
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“Tackleball. Best I got. All we do is tackle the person with the ball. Rarely kick the ball at all,” one user posted on X.
“Funny how it took him this long to realize the entire world already had that figured out,” said another X user.
Trump’s quip comes less than one month after he attended a Detroit Lions vs. Washington Commanders NFL game, during which he appeared in the broadcast booth and threatened to take a FOX star’s TV job.
Trump was booed by fans while attending a Lions vs. Commanders game on November 9(Image: Getty Images)
Trump was featured prominently in the draw for next summer’s World Cup, which began at 12 pm ET on Friday.
Only three nations – the United States, Canada, and Mexico – were drawn into groups one hour after television coverage of the draw began.
Before he claimed that the name of America’s most popular sport should be changed, Trump was awarded the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who left viewers feeling sick when he came on stage to begin the event.
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Friday’s World Cup draw featured Trump, along with many other celebrities and professional athletes, including comedian Kevin Hart and TV personality and model Heidi Klum, who introduced Infantino to begin the event.
The 2026 World Cup schedule will feature 48 teams and 104 total games played in 16 host cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The tournament will kick off on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Mexico City, with the final taking place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, July 19, 2026.