New Delhi: From the moment President Donald Trump retook the Oval Office, there’s a photo that has been circulating everywhere. The photo shows him sitting in his office between the USA flag and the flag of the president of the USA. What has caught everyone’s eye is the trophy behind him, a replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy. He is expected to hand the real trophy to the tournament’s winner next year.
It is well known that Trump is a huge supporter of FIFA, the global governing body of football. In fact, he is known to be a close friend of Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA. Since Trump won the United States presidential election in November last year, Infantino has been public with his rapport with the 47th president of the United States and was one of the first to congratulate him on social media after the election win.
However, a spokesman for FIFA has confirmed that despite the bond shared between Trump and Infantino, the original World Cup trophy isn’t in the Oval Office. The photo was shared on social media with the trophy in close-up. The whole conversation about the trophy started in his first term serving the office when it made an appearance along with Trump’s other prized possessions. Time and again photos showing the inside of Trump’s office have been shared.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (via Instagram):
“What an incredible honour and privilege it is for FIFA and me, as FIFA President, to be acknowledged by President Donald J. Trump during his victory rally speech in Washington DC. Mr Trump, your public show of support, as the… pic.twitter.com/Y8Eo7U3v8r
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) January 20, 2025
During Trump’s inauguration, FIFA released a statement that included Infantino’s gratitude to the businessman for mentioning FIFA and Infantino the night before in the victory rally. In fact, FIFA’s statement also included releases involving Trump and an Instagram photo from Infatino’s handle that shows the duo standing by each other, with their thumbs up.
Infantino in fact noted that he was “honoured” that Trump had hosted him at Mar-a-Lago in Florida before the inauguration. Just days later, Infantino was amongst Trump’s invitees at the US Capitol along with his family members and billionaires like Elon Musk as Trump was sworn in to serve as the 47th President of the USA.
It is not known if the trophy that has been seen in the Oval Office recently is the one that made its way into social media in 2018. Apparently, the new trophy appears to be bigger than the one that had appeared seven years ago. FIFA haven’t divulged the information on whether the trophy was a gift or Trump had obtained it on his own.
Donald Trump’s role in USA hosting majority of FIFA World Cup 2026
Some were also speculating on social media that the trophy might be a subtle nod to the fact that one of the world’s biggest events is set to happen in the USA, with Canada and Mexico co-hosting. 104 games are going to be played in the tournament with 11 out of the total 16 cities being in the USA.
It was Trump’s ties with FIFA and his ties with Infantino that helped the USA make the bid to become the host nation for the 2026 World Cup, with the 78-year-old president even writing a letter to Infantino. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law played a big role in FIFA choosing MetLife Stadium, New Jersey as the venue for the tournament’s final.
Only once the FIFA World Cup has been co-hosted by two nations, which happened in 2002, with Japan and South Korea both jointly hosting the tournament. The 2030 World Cup is going to be hosted by six nations from three different continents.
Donald Trump was recently pictured with the FIFA World Cup trophy which sparked a debate across social media if it was the original trophy that he is most likely to hand to the winner of the tournament happening next year. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
