Trump says soccer is ‘real football’ while shading NFL

Article content

U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t consider the National Football League as “real football.”

Rather, he believes soccer is the real deal.

Article content

Speaking at the 2026 World Cup draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Trump wondered out loud whether the sport North Americans call soccer is really what Europeans have been calling it — football.

He thinks the NFL should be renamed instead.

Article content

“They’ve thought soccer, or football, would be so big, so fast,” said Trump, before going off on a tangent about soccer legend Pelé.

“And I remember, I shouldn’t say this because it was a long time ago, but I remember watching Pelé play on a team called the Cosmos. Pelé, who is fantastic, I assume one of the greats. And he scored three goals out there. I said, ‘That man can play.’”

When it comes to soccer in the United States, Trump said there’s a “little bit of a conflict” with “another thing called football.”

“But when you think about it, shouldn’t it really be called football? I mean, this is football. There’s no question about it,” he said.

“We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff. But who would have thought it would have come to a level where you’ve set your all-time season ticket records? Nobody’s ever sold as many tickets.

“And you’re still a long way from that ball being kicked down the field. What an incredible leap this has been. And congratulations to FIFA.”

Share this article in your social network