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Donald Trump stirred debate at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, DC, arguing that the US should stop calling the sport “soccer” and adopt the global term “football.” Receiving the FIFA Peace Prize, he said the NFL should find a new name, claiming the current terminology “doesn’t make sense.”
US President Donald Trump reignited the long-running debate over what Americans should call the world’s most popular sport — declaring that soccer should be renamed “football” in the United States.
He made the remarks on Friday (December 5) at the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where he was honored as the “very first winner” of the FIFA Peace Prize.
‘This is football… We need another name for the NFL stuff’
During an on-stage Q&A, Trump argued that the term “soccer” makes little sense given how the sport is played globally.
“When you think about it, shouldn’t it really be called… I mean this is football, there’s no question about it,” Trump said.
“We need to come up with another name for the NFL stuff. It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”
Why ‘soccer’ exists
The term “soccer” is primarily used in the US, Canada, and Australia, where other popular sports already occupy the name “football.”
Globally, more than 200 nations use “football” to describe the sport.
World Cup 2026: North America prepares
The United States is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Mexico and Canada. The US will host 11 of the 16 total host cities, with the first match scheduled for July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The tournament — the first hosted across three countries — will kick off in June 2026.
FIFA World Cup 2026 groups revealed
The FIFA World Cup 2026 officially took shape on Friday as the Draw unveiled all 12 groups for the expanded 48-team tournament.
Mexico will face South Africa in the World Cup opener on June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Co-hosts USA, Mexico, and Canada learned their group-stage opponents, while fans can look forward to marquee clashes such as Brazil vs Morocco, France vs Senegal, and Netherlands vs Japan. Debutants Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan also received high-profile matchups against Spain, Germany, Argentina, and Portugal.
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