For football fans, the FIFA World Cup is so much more than sport. Every four years, it presents a unifying moment \u2013 bringing people together across the divides of language, culture and geography in a shared passion for the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For hosting nations, the World Cup is often a soft power supercharger. Watched by billions of people around the globe, it is a prime opportunity to showcase one\u2019s country, culture and values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is all part of what\u2019s known as sport diplomacy, or in this case \u201cfootball diplomacy\u201d. Beyond the trophies, governments invest in football to \u201cwin\u201d off the pitch, too, in terms of fostering better relations, courting investment and earning global prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no question the United States could use a boost like this at the moment after 18 months of Donald Trump\u2019s polarising leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, there\u2019s a crucial difference between soft power and spectacle. Early signs suggest the 2026 World Cup will offer more of the latter for Trump\u2019s America \u2013 an event that highlights power (not the soft kind), tribute, exclusion and vested interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201csoft power\u201d was coined in the 1990s by Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye Jr. It means a country\u2019s power isn\u2019t just derived from military force or economic weight (otherwise known as \u201chard power\u201d), but also in its ability to influence through attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think South Korea\u2019s K-pop phenomenon, the United Kingdom\u2019s prestigious universities and the Nordic countries\u2019 embrace of sustainability, good governance and progressive values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In essence, this is the intangible power nations have to get others to sit at your table and consider, perhaps even support, your view of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept has since evolved significantly since Nye developed it, and received heavy criticism. Critics are quick to point to its subversive potential, particularly when deployed by authoritarian states with less benign motives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political scientists Christopher Walker and Jessica Ludwig have introduced another term, \u201csharp power\u201d, to describe how states, like Russia and China use their influence not to attract others, but to manipulate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Revisiting the topic more recently, Nye himself acknowledged that soft power has become more complicated. He recognises it can be gamed, misread or turned inward in ways that undermine the very openness it depends on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The distinction is an important one today, reflecting a broader shift in how nations now use culture and spectacle as instruments of self-interest and dominance over others in a zero-sum world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enter Trump and the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With an expanded format of 48 teams playing a record 104 matches in 16 cities across three countries, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has labelled this year\u2019s tournament as the \u201cgreatest event that mankind has ever seen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, as the tournament begins, it\u2019s already been an opportunity lost from a sports diplomacy and soft power perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, the event should be a celebration of North American partnership among the three hosts, the US, Mexico and Canada. But tensions have been high since the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from both Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than seek to deescalate in the spirit of unity, Trump instead needled his counterparts in Mexico and Canada, saying the tariffs would make the World Cup \u201cmore exciting\u201d, claiming \u201ctension\u2019s a good thing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s statement on the opening of the World Cup makes only perfunctory reference to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, meanwhile, did not attend the opening match in Mexico City in solidarity with regular Mexicans who cannot afford the exorbitant ticket prices (set by FIFA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vision of football uniting the world \u2013 FIFA\u2019s own stated mantra \u2013 has given way to a tournament defined by who gets to participate and who doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n