United States Opens Talks With FIFA on Hosting the Expanded 2029 Club World Cup
Yemen Herald News 
The United States is pursuing the chance to host the 2029 Club World Cup, hoping to convert the momentum and commercial success of this summer’s World Cup into another marquee event on American soil. FIFA officials have held discussions with US representatives about the tournament, although no formal bid has been submitted because world football’s governing body has not yet clarified how the host will be chosen.
The extent of White House involvement remains uncertain. It is not yet clear whether President Donald Trump’s World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, has taken a direct role in the negotiations, though the taskforce has been vocal in celebrating the tournament’s success. Giuliani has argued that soccer is no longer a story about America’s future but a present-day reality, pointing to the extraordinary demand from fans around the world to attend World Cup matches in the United States.
The numbers support that assessment. FIFA has sold about 6.5 million tickets for the ongoing World Cup, and the organization is on course to exceed its revenue target of 11 billion dollars for the tournament cycle. Given that financial performance, FIFA is widely expected to look favorably on another high-profile event in the United States, particularly in light of its close working relationship with the American government.
FIFA’s commitment to North America extends beyond this summer. An unopposed joint bid from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup is expected to be ratified this year, which would bring a third major FIFA tournament to the region within a decade.
The closeness between FIFA and Washington was on display earlier this month in the case of US forward Folarin Balogun. After Balogun received a straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, Trump said he telephoned FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asked him to review what he considered an unfair suspension. FIFA subsequently suspended the one-match ban, a step without precedent in more than sixty years of World Cup play, and Balogun started the round-of-16 match against Belgium, which the United States lost 4-1 in Seattle. Belgium’s federation said it was astonished by the decision, and European governing body UEFA denounced it as unprecedented and unjustifiable, accusing FIFA of crossing a red line. The episode illustrated both the influence US officials now exert in international soccer and the controversy that influence can generate.
Timing adds another layer of intrigue. Trump’s term ends in January 2029, months before the tournament would kick off, yet he would still hold office during the decisive phase of the host selection. FIFA has not announced a timeline for choosing the 2029 host, but a decision is anticipated next year, most likely after the FIFA presidential election scheduled for April 2027.
Precedent suggests the process may not involve open competition. The United States was awarded the expanded 2025 Club World Cup without a bidding contest, through a unanimous decision of the FIFA Council. Many within the game had expected the 2029 edition to go to two of the countries co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, with Spain and Morocco considered the leading candidates. Interest has since emerged from other nations, including Brazil and Qatar, creating a more competitive field for the event.
FIFA has not put a major tournament host to a vote of its full membership since 2018, when the joint bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico defeated a rival bid from Morocco for the 2026 World Cup. Morocco was later named a co-host of the 2030 tournament alongside Spain and Portugal, an edition that will also include three centenary matches in South America to mark one hundred years since the first World Cup in Uruguay.
The plan to expand the 2029 Club World Cup to 48 teams aligns with the ambitions of major European clubs, whose support could strengthen the American case. For FIFA, staging another large tournament in North America is seen as the most lucrative option available, given that many matches at this summer’s World Cup sold out and the organization’s pricing strategy delivered strong returns. A similar commercial model could be applied to an enlarged club tournament.
The United States also enters any contest with practical advantages. The stadiums, transport links and organizational infrastructure assembled for the 2026 World Cup would remain in place, and the sport’s domestic audience has grown markedly through the tournament. Hosting the club game’s flagship event three years later would allow the country to reuse that capacity while the enthusiasm is still fresh.
The coming months will be decisive. FIFA must settle the selection process, and the outcome of its presidential election could shape which bids are favored. If the United States is to prevail, it will need to present a case strong enough to overcome the expectations that once pointed toward Europe and North Africa, as well as the newer interest from South America and the Gulf.
For now, the talks signal how far soccer’s center of commercial gravity has shifted. With a large fan base, proven infrastructure and a government eager to keep major tournaments on home soil, the United States is well placed to add the 2029 Club World Cup to its growing portfolio, and the decision, when it comes, will say much about the direction of the global game.
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