FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in the Oval Office on Monday for an announcement alongside U.S. President Donald Trump and the 2026 World Cup White House Task Force. They introduced ‘FIFA PASS,’ an expedited visa interview process for World Cup ticketholders visiting the United States.
The meeting originally was scheduled for 2 p.m. ET but began closer to 2:45 p.m. The administration announced an expedited visa process for World Cup ticket holders attempting to enter the country.
The meeting took place with a little more than two weeks left until the 2026 World Cup Draw, which will be held Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Infantino has been a frequent visitor at the White House since Trump took office in January. Most recently, Infantino visited in August to promote the start of ticket sales for the World Cup.
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The United States will host the bulk of the games at the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in June and will be co-hosted by Mexico and Canada. The tournament will feature 48 teams for the first time.
Trump established the Task Force in March via an executive order, which stated that it would ‘assist in the planning, organization and execution of the events surrounding the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.’
How to watch President Trump meeting with 2026 FIFA World Cup Task Force at White House
Watch the meeting live below or at the top of this page. You can also view it directly on the USA TODAY Sports and White House YouTube channels.
Trump, World Cup task force announce expedited visa screening
The Trump administration and the White House’s FIFA Task Force announced the FIFA Prioritized Appointments Scheduling System (PASS). The goal is to cut the wait time for vis interviews from several months to 6-8 weeks, President Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged those with tickets to begin the visa process as soon as possible and not wait until the last minute.
‘Your ticket is not a visa,’ Rubio emphasized.
Trump, FIFA president don’t rule out moving World Cup games
A reporter asked President Trump about Seattle’s new Democratic socialist mayor-elect Katie Wilson, and whether her agenda and pre-existing crime issues there, could affect the city hosting six World Cup games next year. Trump turned the question to Infantino. The FIFA president did not rule out the possibility, though he emphasized early ticket sales suggest fans are not concerned about safety and security at this point.
‘Safety and security are the No. 1 priority for a successful World Cup,’ Infantino said in response. ‘We can see today that people have trust in the United States and we see the ticket sales, tickets sold, are record breaking. Almost 2 million sold already out of 2 million … because people, they know, they will be coming here and they will experience a safe and secure World Cup. It’s of course the responsibility of the government … and obviously, we will, we will discuss, we are working together. We have a Task Force for this and we must ensure that all fans coming from abroad here can experience a celebration of coming together, of the sport, and this goes on with 100% safety.’
Trump wants mayors, governors to ask for World Cup security help
Though Trump’s press conference included several topics besides the World Cup, it did come up again with a follow up question for the president about the logistics of potentially moving games and if there’s a deadline to do so. Trump focused his answer on the state of California, which will host games at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles and Levi’s Stadium in the Bay Area next summer, and his willingness to devote federal help to ensure safety around World Cup games.
“The governors are going to have to behave, the mayors are going to have to behave,’ Trump said. ‘… I love Los Angeles. If they want help during this, I would love to send in National Guard or whoever is necessary during that. I want it to be great. I would love it to be in Los Angeles. I love the place. It’s a natural for Los Angeles. If we think there’s going to be crime, if we’re obstructed by the governor – maybe he won’t obstruct, maybe he’ll be great – but I’d love for him to call and say could I have some extra help. Because if there’s even a hint of a problem, we want to get in there before the problem occurs. We want to make it totally safe for … all of the great people that are going to be there, and I think it’s going to happen. I would be honored to help California if they’re going to have a problem. … We can be in there in 24 hours notice.’