U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati over the weekend addressed the U.S. bid chances for the '26 FIFA World Cup with Donald Trump as president, saying he "does not fear the election results will damage" its chances, according to Steven Goff of the WASHINGTON POST. Gulati: "We haven’t made a decision about a World Cup bid. We won’t make a decision until we know what all the rules are. ... We respect the election and will work with whoever is in the White House. ... A bid, if it should happen, relies critically on cooperation with the government in a number of areas. We look forward to working with the president-elect. He is an avid sports fan, and we’ll wait to see if we bid." Gulati added that the "topic of a joint bid had been discussed informally with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts." But Gulati said that the USSF would "not want to share a World Cup evenly." Gulati added, "If we decide to bid, this will be an American bid that the country has to be behind. The president doesn’t have to love a particular sport. ... But we fully expect that to be the case because if we are bidding, it will be good for U.S. soccer and will be good for the United States." Meanwhile, asked about how he is handling USWNT MF Megan Rapinoe's kneeling during the National Anthem at NWSL matches, Gulati said, "There is a difference between playing for your club and your country on this issue. ... Yes, Megan couldn’t get prosecuted for criminal charges for freedom of speech. That is not the case in any membership, organization or employment area. She has got the right to freedom of speech; she’s also got the obligations of putting on the U.S. national team uniform" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/12).
