President Donald Trump boasted a star-studded entourage in his MetLife Stadium luxury box for Sunday’s FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. Among the A-list crew, according to a photo snagged by a White House pool reporter, were a couple of the most powerful figures in sports media.
Per The Guardian‘s Hugo Lowell, both Fox Corporation chairman emeritus Rupert Murdoch, Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst Tom Brady, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino accompanied Trump for Chelsea’s 3-0 win over PSG.
The box — which also featured Trump administration officials like U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — likely was assembled alongside Infantino as a means of preparation for next summer’s FIFA World Cup, in which transportation and security will be of utmost importance.
But for the sports media-inclined, the inclusion of Murdoch and Brady should be notable. Fox, of course, owns broadcast rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the 2030 tournament has yet to be sold to a U.S. broadcaster. No doubt, Fox is interested in keeping those rights for themselves, though they’re likely to face competition from other broadcasters.
However, the cozy relationships between Trump and Fox, Trump and Infantino, and Fox and FIFA, would suggest that the network has as good a chance as anyone to win the 2030 rights. The network was awarded a no-bid contract by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup as a concession for the 2022 tournament being held in the winter, and a former Fox executive is currently embroiled in a bribery case involving FIFA, though Fox denies any involvement.
None of this is to suggest that the 2030 World Cup going to Fox is a foregone conclusion. It’s not even to suggest that Fox is a front-runner. But the sports business is one built on relationships, and there’s no American broadcaster that has deeper relationships with FIFA and Infantino than Fox. You don’t send the 94-year-old media mogul and his world-famous seven-time Super Bowl champion employee to schmooze with the FIFA president unless you’re trying to send a clear message.
And given FIFA’s not-so-subtle history of corruption, it seems like these are the types of tactics you employ to get something done with soccer’s global governing body. For now, though, we’ll just have to wait and see.