Will Donald Trump present the World Cup 2026 trophy to the winning country?

The shadow of Donald Trump looms large over World Cup 2026. Allowing the tournament to be co-hosted in the United States while it's involved in a war of his making is a black mark in football history and the President is liable to put himself in the middle of it.

World Cup 2026 will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico in June and July under an enormous political cloud. Iran are set to play their first group fixture against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on Monday, June 15, two months and one week after Trump threatened to wipe the country out overnight.

Still, Gianni Infantino and FIFA continue as if nothing has happened even after unnecessarily inserting themselves into the situation by inventing the FIFA Peace Prize to award it to their beloved Commander-in-Chief in December.

Will Donald Trump present the World Cup trophy?

Speaking of trophies, there's one in the White House that shouldn't be there. Chelsea won Infantino's Club World Cup last summer but the gyroscopic bus steering wheel isn't in London.

According to Trump, Chelsea have a replica. What that actually means when a new trophy has only been awarded once is debateable, but the Club World Cup trophy is supposedly in the Oval office nonetheless.

Trump infamously overstepped the mark when Chelsea were given the trophy last July, standing on the podium with Reece James and the Blues squad but raising only fears that he will overshadow the real world champions at the culmination of World Cup 2026.

While there are reports that insiders at the world football governing body are increasingly embarrassed by the organisation's public love affair with Trump, Infantino continues to live in a bubble.

One consequence of Infantino's shameful bromance with Trump is that the President, an excellent golfer no matter what anyone tells you, will be involved in the presentation of the World Cup after the final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19.

"This trophy will be handed out on the 19th of July to the captain of the team who will win the World Cup," said Infantino during a speech at Davos in January. "I will give it together with the President of the United States, the host country. Nobody can touch this trophy.

"I decided to become FIFA president so I could finally have the privilege and the honor to touch this magic trophy. It's truly the most iconic trophy in the world of sports. It is truly magic."

Fine words indeed from the man acclaimed by Trump as "the sort of king of soccer, I guess, in a certain way."

History will judge World Cup 2026 in its full sociopolitical context and there will be ample visual evidence of Trump's proximity to the moment. Infantino might not wish to uncouple himself from that. If he changes his mind in the future, he won't be able to airbrush out his presence.

That the name of FIFA and global football as a whole is being dragged along with him is as powerful a reason as any for the game to re-evaluate its relationship with the governing body and its leadership.