The United States is actively pursuing the 2029 Club World Cup, seeking to leverage the commercial windfall and sporting prestige it gained from hosting this summer's World Cup.
Fifa officials have already begun preliminary discussions with US representatives about the possibility, according to people familiar with the matter. However, the American side has not formally committed to a bid, largely because Fifa has not yet released the official selection criteria or timeline for awarding the tournament.
What remains murky is whether the White House or Trump's World Cup taskforce, led by Andrew Giuliani, have been part of these early conversations. Giuliani last week celebrated the tournament's domestic success, declaring that soccer has shifted from a future aspiration to an immediate reality for American sports fans.
The numbers tell the story. Fifa sold 6.5 million tickets for this World Cup, nearly doubling its previous sales record. Revenue is expected to exceed the $11 billion target by a significant margin. For Fifa, awarding another major tournament to the United States makes commercial sense, particularly given the Trump administration's demonstrated willingness to flex its influence over the organization.
That relationship was on full display this week when Trump personally asked Fifa President Gianni Infantino to review a red card against England's Folarin Balogun in the USA's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. In an extraordinary move, Fifa's disciplinary committee suspended the one-match ban, allowing Balogun to play in Monday's knockout round. It marked an unprecedented intervention during an active tournament.
Fifa has not announced its formal process for selecting the 2029 hosts, though a decision is expected sometime next year, likely following the Fifa presidential election scheduled for April. The organization awarded the 2025 Club World Cup to the United States without a competitive bidding process, with the Fifa Council voting unanimously in June 2023.
Historically, industry observers anticipated that the 2029 tournament would go to one of the 2030 World Cup hosts, most probably Spain or Morocco. But interest has surfaced from unexpected quarters. Brazil's football confederation has signaled its desire to host, and reports indicate Qatar has also expressed interest.
One wild card that could boost a US bid is Fifa's push to expand the Club World Cup from 32 to 48 teams beginning in 2029. Major European clubs support the expansion. Hosting a larger tournament would require substantial infrastructure and generate additional revenue, advantages that play to American strengths.
A second North American tournament would also be the most financially attractive scenario for Fifa. The organization's aggressive ticket pricing strategy this summer proved vindicated, with most matches selling out. Even a previous Club World Cup experiment using dynamic pricing generated $411 million from ticket sales and hospitality.
Trump leaves office in January 2029, months after the tournament would conclude, but will still be president when Fifa makes its hosting decision. How directly his administration engages in lobbying for the bid remains an open question.
Author James Rodriguez: "The calculus is simple: Fifa found gold in America, and both sides want more. Whether that translates to another tournament depends on whether Fifa has the stomach to break with tradition and keep the spotlight stateside."
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