President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced new appointments to the task force that is coordinating preparations for the 2026 World Cup, including that Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and a longtime Trump aide, will serve as the executive director.
Carlos Cordeiro, a former president of the United States Soccer Federation and currently a senior adviser at FIFA, will serve as Giuliani’s senior adviser on the Presidential Task Force on the 2026 World Cup.
Giuliani, who was a former gubernatorial candidate in New York, served in Trump’s first administration as a special assistant to the president and was associate director of the Office of Public Liaison. Trump noted that the former mayor helped coordinate the reentry of foreign professional athletes who ply their trade in the US during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.
During the first meeting of the task force on Tuesday, Trump praised Giuliani as a competitive person.
“He’s a highly competitive golfer, by which I mean really good,” Trump said. “And he’s also a highly competitive person, and he loves what we’re doing. So, I want to congratulate you and your family and your father, your great father, who’s the greatest mayor in the history of New York. So, I want to congratulate the family.”
He added, with a laugh: “It’s a big post, you better do well, Andrew.”
The task force is largely made up of members of Trump’s Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance is serving as vice chairman. Other members of the task force include GOP Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Todd Young, as well as Republican Reps. Darin LaHood and Bryan Steil.
