President Donald Trump has said that the opportunity to compete at football’s 2026 World Cup could be an “incentive” for Russia to end the war with Ukraine.
Russian national teams have been banned from international competitions by both FIFA and UEFA since 2022, days after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico began in 2023, with 45 spots up for grabs in addition to the host nations.
Speaking alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the first meeting of his administration’s World Cup taskforce, Trump said he was unaware that Russia would be excluded under current rules, but suggested that ending the war could pave the way for their reinstatement.
“I didn’t know that, is that right?” Trump said. “You want to explain that?”
“That is right,” replied Infantino. “They are banned for the time being from playing but we hope that something happens and peace will happen so that Russia can be readmitted.”
Trump responded: “That’s possible. Hey, could be a good incentive, right?
“We want to get them to stop. We want them to stop. 5,000 people a week are being killed — it’s not even believable. We’re going to get that war stopped.”
European qualification for next summer’s tournament officially started with the Nations League in March. A total of 16 UEFA nations will qualify for the World Cup.
Russia haven’t played a competitive fixture since a 2022 World Cup qualifying defeat to Croatia in November 2021.
They have played 16 friendlies since then, winning 11 of them.
Infantino said at a UEFA congress in April that he wanted to bring Russia back “in the football landscape because this would mean that everything is solved.”
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin added: “When the war stops, [Russia] will be readmitted.”