President Trump Floats Idea Of World Cup Being An Incentive For Russia To End War

PublishedMay 7, 2025 8:30 PM EDT•UpdatedMay 7, 2025 8:30 PM EDT

It's hard to believe that the 2026 World Cup, joint-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is a little over a year away, which is why FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in Washington to speak with President Donald Trump.

During the discussion, President Trump was asked about the possibility of Russia being allowed to compete at the World Cup. The country has been banned from international competition since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

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However, the president — who is a big football guy, but not a big other-kind-of-football guy — was unaware that the Russians were not welcome at international events in recent years.

"I didn't know that, is that right?" Trump asked Infantino, per Daily Mail. "He is the boss, I am not the boss on that."

The FIFA President said that this was correct, but expressed his hope for peace so that Russia could return to the international stage.

President Trump floated the idea that the 2026 World Cup could be an incentive for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

However, the President did float the idea of the World Cup being a sort of carrot that could be dangled in front of the Russians to help bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

"That's possible," Trump said. "Hey, that could be a good incentive, right? We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop. Five thousand young people a week are being killed, it's not even believable, the Russian soldiers and Ukrainian soldiers mostly.

"Horrible things going on over there. We are going to get that war stopped."

It's not a bad idea. Being able to compete on one of the biggest stages in all of sports should be one heck of a motivator.

However, if Russia wants any hope of playing in the 2026 World Cup, it has to get peace talks ramped up into overdrive because the qualification process is well underway, having gotten started back in March.