Russian leader Vladimir Putin could be invited to next year’s World Cup in North America, US President Donald Trump has suggested.
Speaking at a press conference announcing the date and draw of the 2026 tournament on Friday, he told reporters Putin wants to be there “very badly” as he held up a picture of the two from their recent summit in Alaska.
“That’s a man named Vladimir Putin who I believe will be coming depending on what happens,” he said as he showed reporters the image. “He may be coming and he may not.”
The upcoming World Cup will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
Russia hosted the World Cup in 2018, but has since been banned from all Fifa and Uefa competitions because of the war in Ukraine, including the most recent World Cup in Qatar.
But Trump appeared to offer an invitation to Putin, adding: “He’s been very respectful of me and my country.”
The two leaders last met on 15 August in a high-stakes summit over the situation in Ukraine, but the conference ended with no clear resolution. But during a visit to a nuclear research centre on Friday, Putin said Trump’s leadership qualities would help restore US-Russia relations.
“With the arrival of President Trump, I think that a light at the end of the tunnel has finally loomed. And now we had a very good, meaningful and frank meeting in Alaska,” the Russian leader said.
Asked by reporters at the World Cup announcement whether he was willing to do nothing if Putin refused to come to the table for peace talks, Trump said he would wait and see “whose fault it is” before making further efforts to strike a deal for peace in the region.
He added he would know “in about two weeks” whether to impose sanctions on Russia or step away and say “it’s your fight”.
“I’m not happy about it, and I’m not happy about anything having to do with that war,” he told reporters at the White House when asked about Russia’s deadly strike on a factory in Ukraine this week.
He was accompanied by Fifa president Gianni Infantino as he announced the draw for the World Cup 2026 would take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Centre in Washington.
The US President appeared pleased to have been offered the chance to hold the trophy by Infantino, commenting: “That’s a beautiful piece of gold” and joking “Can I keep it?”.
