Donald Trump floats idea of executive order on 'football'

Under the fading summer light at MetLife Stadium, where Chelsea powered past PSG with a 3-0 win to clinch the newly revamped FIFA Club World Cup, it wasn't just the football that had people talking.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who was watching from the stands as a guest of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, made headlines of his own shortly after the final whistle.

Speaking to DAZN shortly after the final whistle, the 45th and 47th president said he was open to the idea of officially renaming “soccer” as “football” in the United States.

“I think we could do that,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of an executive order.

His comment came just minutes after Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro had finished off Chelsea’s commanding performance in front of 81,188 fans, which was also the largest crowd of the tournament.

Trump, in the stadium as a guest of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, said he was impressed at how fast the sport of soccer has taken off in the United States and stressed the point that world tournaments will bring people together.

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“It’s about unity, a lot of getting together, a lot of love between countries,” he said.

“I guess this is probably the most international sport, so it can really bring the world together.”

Donald Trump reveals his favorite player

When Trump was asked to name his favorite footballer of all time, he answered without hesitation

“Many years ago, when I was young, they brought a player called Pele to play and he played for a team called the Cosmos,” Trump told DAZN.

Donald Trump correctly names Pelé as the Greatest Footballer Of All Time 🐐 pic.twitter.com/D9EwUFuKEH

— All Things Brazil™ 🇧🇷 (@SelecaoTalk) July 13, 2025

“And this place was packed – it was an earlier version of this stadium [the MetLife Stadium] and it was Pele.

“I don’t want to date myself but that was a long time ago and I was a young guy so I came to watch Pele and he was fantastic.

“So probably I’ll go old-fashioned – that’s like saying Babe Ruth – and say Pele was so great.”