'It doesn't make sense': Trump wants to rename American football

AFP , Friday 5 Dec 2025

Spurred on by World Cup 2026 fever, US President Donald Trump said Friday that American football should be renamed as the game played with a round ball, soccer, was the one true football.

: U.S. President Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, chat during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. AFP

"We have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that's called football but when you think about it, shouldn't it really be called ... football, there is no question. We have to come up with another name for the NFL (National Football League)," Trump said at the World Cup draw.

"It really doesn't make sense when you think about it."

For Americans, the word "football" refers to American football, a sport primarily played with the hands -- completely different from what the rest of the world calls football.

Almost the entire country tunes in each year to the NFL championship final, the Super Bowl, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made sure on Friday to emphasize to Americans that the 2026 World Cup would be the equivalent of 104 Super Bowls.

An all-round sports enthusiast, Trump has developed a particular affection for soccer that continues to grow as the 2026 World Cup, which will take place next summer in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, approaches.

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