Trump to attend World Cup Final as crypto and sports collide on the biggest stage
The president's trophy presentation alongside FIFA's Infantino caps a year where meme coins, fan tokens, and blockchain collectibles have become inseparable from the beautiful game.
President Donald Trump will be at MetLife Stadium on July 19 for the FIFA World Cup Final, joining FIFA President Gianni Infantino to present the trophy.
The trophy presentation and the money trail
Trump and Infantino have cultivated a visible relationship over the past year. Infantino previously gifted Trump 10 tickets to a Club World Cup final, and the two have met multiple times, including at the 2025 Club World Cup final.
Trump has reportedly earned over $1 billion from cryptocurrency ventures and meme coin activities in 2025 alone. His meme coin partners are reportedly offering World Cup-related experiences, including premium box seat access, to holders.
FIFA’s blockchain ambitions
FIFA has been building out FIFA Collect, a platform that runs on the Avalanche blockchain and lets fans buy and trade digital collectibles.
In February 2026, Infantino revealed plans for a “FIFA token and FIFA coin” designed to serve as a universal currency connecting an estimated 6 billion fans globally.
No specific token launches directly tied to the World Cup Final have been confirmed.
Where crypto meets the pitch
Chiliz, the company behind Socios.com and dozens of fan tokens for clubs like Barcelona and PSG, saw its CHZ token lose the vast majority of its value from peak to trough.
FIFA itself, not a third-party platform, is building blockchain products, with Infantino having announced plans for its own coin.
What investors should actually watch
The more significant long-term signal is FIFA’s commitment to its own token economy. If Infantino follows through on plans for a FIFA coin, it would represent one of the largest real-world use cases for cryptocurrency ever attempted, with six billion potential users dwarfing the entire current crypto user base.