The US has expressed interest in hosting the 2029 Club World Cup as it seeks to capitalise on the commercial and sporting success of staging the World Cup.
FIFA has held talks with US officials about its plans for 2029, but the World Cup co-hosts have yet to commit to a bid because the details of the selection process have not been confirmed. It is unclear whether there has been any involvement in the discussions from the White House or Donald Trump’s World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, who on Wednesday hailed the success of this summer’s tournament.
“Soccer is no longer a future American story,” Giuliani said. “It’s happening right now. There’s just so much demand to come to the United States to watch the World Cup.”
FIFA has almost doubled its sales record by selling 6.5m tickets for this World Cup, and is expected to exceed its revenue target of $11bn (£8.2bn), so it would welcome the US hosting another tournament, not least given its ties with the White House.
An unopposed joint bid from the US, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica to host the 2031 Women’s World Cup is due to be ratified by FIFA this year.
FIFA’s close relationship with the US government was illustrated this week by the Folarin Balogun affair, with Trump revealing he had asked its president, Gianni Infantino, to review the striker’s sending-off in the USA’s last-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In an unprecedented ruling during a major tournament FIFA's disciplinary committee suspended the 25-year-old’s one-match ban, enabling him to play in Monday’s last-16 defeat to Belgium.
Trump is due to leave office in January 2029, months before the Club World Cup, but will be in post when the decision is made. FIFA has not made an announcement over the timing or process for selecting the 2029 hosts, although a decision is expected next year, most likely after the FIFA presidential election is held in April.
The USA was appointed to host the expanded 2025 Club World Cup without a bidding process, with the decision made unanimously by the FIFA Council in June 2023.
It had been widely expected that the 2029 tournament would be awarded to two of the 2030 World Cup hosts – most likely Spain and Morocco – but there has been no shortage of interest from elsewhere. The Brazilian Football Confederation has stated it would like to host, and the Guardian has reported interest from Qatar.
FIFA has not held a vote of members to determine the hosts of its major tournaments since 2018, when the joint US, Canada and Mexico bid for this summer’s World Cup beat a rival bid from Morocco, who were subsequently awarded the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal. It will also feature three centenary games in South America.
FIFA’s desire to expand the Club World Cup to 48 teams in 2029, supported by the major European clubs, is a potentially complicating factor and could strengthen any US bid.
Another North American tournament would also be the most lucrative option for FIFA, which has been vindicated in its aggressive pricing strategy for this World Cup, with most matches selling out.
FIFA trialled the controversial dynamic ticking pricing model at last year’s Club World Cup, which generated revenue of $411m (£307m) from ticket sales and hospitality despite fluctuating demand.
