An American bid for the 2038 World Cup is gaining momentum, with Donald Trump publicly urging Fifa president Gianni Infantino to bring the tournament back to the US while he is still in office. Fifa has quietly encouraged such a bid, driven largely by huge, unexpected growth in ticketing and hospitality revenue during the 2026 tournament, which has made the US an exceptionally lucrative host. This matters because it signals Fifa's strategy is increasingly shaped by the American market's willingness to spend, and could see the country host the men's World Cup for a third time within little more than a decade.

At a meeting in New York, Infantino told member associations that revenue projections for the current four-year cycle had risen from $11bn to $15bn, mostly thanks to ticketing and hospitality sales exceeding $5bn, now surpassing TV rights income for the first time. Fifa is also keen to make up ground after handing Fox Sports the 2026 US English-language TV rights without competitive bidding for just $485m, far below the value of comparable NFL and NBA deals, a decision made to avoid legal risk after Qatar 2022's rights clash. With ESPN, NBC and even Netflix reportedly eyeing future rights auctions, and Netflix already holding US rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups, Fifa is positioning itself to capitalise fully on renewed American interest, potentially through a fresh US-hosted men's tournament in 2038.