FIFA is in advanced negotiations with venues in Las Vegas to host the draw for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico — but soccer’s world governing body has also discussed holding the event in Washington, D.C., if it made it easier for President Donald Trump to participate extensively.
When the U.S. last hosted a men’s World Cup in 1994, the draw took place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with Dick Clark presenting a gameshow-style event. James Brown was among a cast of star names — including Stevie Wonder (pictured above), Barry Manilow and Sir Rod Stewart — to perform. The late comedian Robin Williams assisted former FIFA president Sepp Blatter with the draw, and the 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton appeared via video link.
The event, which determines the groups for the tournament’s first stage of matches, setting the path to the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, is set to take place in December 2025, and FIFA has identified a return to Las Vegas as its preferred destination.
It is also the preference of several host city executives, who are hoping to entertain prospective commercial partners in Sin City before and after the draw.
In January, Alejandro Hutt, the director of the host city committee for the Mexican location Monterrey, told ESPN that they and Canadian city Vancouver had shown interest in hosting the draw but were informed by FIFA they would not be granted the privilege. The U.S. will host 75 per cent of the games during the tournament across 11 of the 16 host cities.
The Athletic has been told by sources, who wished to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, that FIFA has explored multiple venue options in Las Vegas, with the 17,000-seater MGM Grand Garden Arena among the sites it is considering.
FIFA has also studied alternative options in Las Vegas, including The Sphere and the T-Mobile Arena, but these are considered less likely because residencies, holiday concerts and events are in high demand in December. T-Mobile Arena, home of hockey’s Las Vegas Golden Knights, must also adapt to the needs of the NHL regular season, for which the schedule has not yet been released.
Soccer’s world governing body would also be competing for hotel rooms in Las Vegas; not only with holiday visitors but also the National Finals Rodeo, which takes place between December 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center. In 2024, more than 170,000 attended this across 10 days. Amazon’s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas has also become an annual tradition in early December and has more than 60,000 attendees.
FIFA has also enquired about the more intimate Dolby Live arena, which has a capacity of 6,400, but MGM, which operates it, provided initial feedback to say its preference was to keep the venue open for residencies or holiday concerts. Bruno Mars and Lenny Kravitz have multiple dates at Dolby Live booked for this summer, but arguably, the jewel in the Dolby’s crown over the past 12 months has been Mariah Carey’s residency. Her schedule for December is not yet announced, but last year, she went to 20 cities as part of her holiday season tour, and the Dolby is keen to maintain space in its calendar for further appearances by her, which limits FIFA’s options.
Mariah Carey performs at Dolby Live at Park MGM in April 2024 (Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Live Nation)
In a statement to The Athletic, MGM Resorts International said: “As leaders in sports and entertainment, it would be a tremendous opportunity to host a FIFA event in Las Vegas. We are committed to delivering premier experiences that captivate fans worldwide and partnering with FIFA would offer another chance for the destination to showcase itself as the sports capital of the world.”
Some of those at FIFA have also noted President Trump’s repeated references to the World Cup since he returned to the White House, with him regularly praising his FIFA counterpart, Gianni Infantino, who visited the Oval Office earlier this year and attended one of Trump’s pre-inauguration rallies. Internally, FIFA has discussed the possibility of bringing the event closer to Trump, even floating ideas to host the event in considerably slimmed-down fashion at the White House or other potential sites in D.C.
Trump could still travel to Las Vegas for the event. He sent a video message for the FIFA Club World Cup draw held in Miami in December 2024, during an event that his daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner and grandson Theo attended. Ivanka and Theo made the ceremonial first picks of the draw.
FIFA declined to comment on this story, with people at the organization indicating that negotiations are continuing and announcements may be made in due course. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
(Top photo: Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)
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