When President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced in August that the World Cup draw — which will determine team groups for the 2026 games, some of which will be played in the Bay Area — would take place Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., a video circulated globally showing a grinning Trump wearing a red hat that read, “Trump Was Right About Everything.”

“It’s for winners only, and since you’re a winner, you can touch it,” Infantino said, handing the World Cup’s 14-inch, 13.5-pound, 75% pure gold trophy to Trump.

“Can I keep it?” Trump said. “I am not giving it back.”

The exchange was emblematic of a relationship that blossomed between the U.S. president and the president of soccer’s governing body as the United States prepares to host a majority of

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