North America will host the 2026 World Cup, with the majority of sites for the event occurring in the United States. During the draw event, Trump spoke with FIFA officials and global leaders.
While speaking, Trump discussed the growing popularity of soccer in the States, and even applied a bit of pressure to the NFL, calling for the league to change its name so the sport can be referred to as “football” the same way it is around the world.
“This is football, there is no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff,” the President said.
Wow: President Donald Trump wants the NFL to change its name so that soccer is the only sport named football.
"This is football, there is no question about it. We have to come up with another name for the NFL stuff."
😬😬😬 pic.twitter.com/uxJMsG0oQd
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 2, 2026
People reacted to Trump’s comments on social media.
“Trump wanting the NFL to rebrand because soccer is “real football” is peak delusional. American football’s been around longer and bigger globally. That’s a L take no matter the reasoning,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“This might be the only debate that could unite the entire world… against America,” someone else added.
“It’s called American Football. There are other sports like Rugby Football, Aussie Rules Football… all respecting their origins by their names,” another perosns added.
It’ll be interesting to see if Trump pursues the issue and works to get the name officially changed.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.