Nick Adams, the social media influencer who describes himself as President Donald Trump’s “favorite author,” has a new job in the Trump administration. Adams wrote on social media on Tuesday that Trump tapped him to serve as “special presidential envoy for American tourism, exceptionalism, and values.” The new role comes after his nomination for the post of U.S. ambassador to Malaysia reportedly fell apart in recent months. The Australian-American — who gained national attention for his dogged defense of the president on X, as well as regularly describing himself as an “Alpha Male” with a well-documented love of the Hooters restaurant chain — began the role last week, according to a staff page on the State Department’s website. “I look forward to serving as America’s brand Ambassador, bringing the message of America’s excellence to the entire world,” he said in a post on X. “With America 250, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics coming up, the world needs to be reminded of all we have to offer. I will be a tireless spokesman for American greatness, at home and abroad.” A spokesperson for the State Department confirmed receiving a request for comment about Adams’ new role, but did not immediately provide a response. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music European affairs ministers meet in Brussels to prepare this week’s EU summit — with discussions ranging from Ukraine and the war in Iran to the bloc’s next long-term budget and competitiveness. But there is also motion on enlargement. Ukraine and Moldova are receiving the remaining negotiating clusters in their EU accession talks, while Montenegro is set to provisionally close another chapter. Meanwhile the war with Iran is already testing transatlantic unity. After Donald Trump urged allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, EU foreign ministers made clear they have no intention of sending warships there, with several capitals warning they won’t be dragged into the war. And in the world of sport and geopolitics, EU Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef is pressing FIFA President Gianni Infantino for clearer assurances that European fans travelling to the 2026 World Cup will be safe — as tensions rise following the U.S.-Israeli war in the Middle East. Host Zoya Sheftalovich is joined by POLITICO’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, Nick Vinocur. Send any questions or comments to us on our WhatsApp: +32 491 05 06 29. 

FIFA is caught between Iran and a hard place. Tehran’s football federation has urged the world governing body to eject the U.S. from the 2026 World Cup, while America hammers Iran with missile strikes. The U.S. is co-hosting the premier football tournament this summer along with Canada and Mexico, and the U.S.-Israeli strikes that decapitated Tehran’s leadership have thrown Iran’s participation into doubt. Trump this week suggested it was not “appropriate” for the Iranian team to attend for their “own life and safety,” not long after FIFA President Gianni Infantino assured people that Trump had said it was “welcome to compete in the tournament.”  “Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event,” the association wrote in an Instagram story addressed to Infantino. Even before the war began, Iranian football representatives didn’t attend last year’s World Cup draw in Washington D.C. over a visa spat with the U.S. administration. Iran qualified for the tournament in March 2025. If it attends the World Cup, Iran will face Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in the group stage, in matches played in Los Angeles and Seattle.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran should not compete in the upcoming World Cup hosted in North America, despite assuring the FIFA president days earlier that they would be welcome amid the war in the Middle East. “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. His post came two days after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he had spoken with Trump “about the situation in Iran,” and was assured by the president that the Iranian soccer team is “welcome to compete” at the World Cup held in North America this summer. “During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World.” But hours later, Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said the country will not be participating in the event, which is set to begin in less than 100 days. “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali told state television, according to Reuters, referring to the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist.” Iran’s participation has been in question after the country was notably absent from a recent FIFA planning meeting in Atlanta. Trump told POLITICO earlier this month he did not care whether Iran ultimately participates. “I really don’t care,” he said. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.” The Iranian team is scheduled to play three group-stage matches in the U.S. in June — two in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, and one in Seattle against Egypt.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino reported Wednesday morning that he’d met with U.S. President Donald Trump and discussed Iran’s participation in the World Cup. “President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino said, following the meeting.  Iran qualified for the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted this summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and is scheduled to play three group-stage games between Los Angeles and Seattle — but its participation has been thrown into doubt in recent weeks.  Trump, along with his Israeli allies, launched a military offensive against Iran late last month. Air strikes killed the Iranian supreme leader, but have failed to topple the regime and triggered regional drone-and-missile retaliation from Tehran. The war has also fueled a spike in oil prices, sparking concern over the global economy.  “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World,” Infantino added.  Infantino, who has been head of world football’s governing body since 2016, awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December last year.  Unveiling the honor, the governing body said it would “reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”

Germany’s football association on Friday ruled out a boycott of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after facing some pressure to pull out over U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy. “The DFB Executive Committee agrees that debates on sports policy should be conducted internally and not in public,” the association said in a statement. “A boycott of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada is currently not under consideration. In preparation for the tournament, the DFB is in dialogue with representatives from politics, security, business and sport. “We believe in the unifying power of sport and in the global impact that a football World Cup can have. Our goal is to strengthen this positive force — not to prevent it,” it added. Over the last two weeks, German media and politicians have debated a potential boycott of the sporting event following Trump’s now-retracted threats to impose tariffs on EU countries opposing his plans to annex Greenland. The World Cup is one of Trump’s prestige projects, and the U.S. president maintains close ties to Gianni Infantino, president of the world football governing body FIFA. A boycott by heavyweight European nations would cripple the tournament. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos amid tensions over Greenland, Infantino sought to downplay political divisions, saying: “The world stands still because the World Cup and football has really an impact on the lives, on the moods of people like [nothing] else. There is nothing anywhere close to what football does. It changes the mood not just of people, but of countries.”  Calls for a politically motivated boycott of sporting mega events are not new. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar, media and politicians in several EU countries debated boycotting the event over the host country’s treatment of migrant workers. Germany has won the World Cup four times.

A senior German football executive has urged Europe to consider boycotting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric over Greenland and broader foreign policy moves spark unease across the continent. Oke Göttlich, president of Bundesliga club St. Pauli and a vice president of the German Football Association, said in an interview with German media that the time had come to “seriously consider and discuss” a boycott, comparing the current moment to the Cold War-era Olympic boycotts of the 1980s. “What were the justifications for the boycotts of the Olympic Games in the 1980s?” Göttlich told the Hamburger Morgenpost. “By my reckoning, the potential threat is greater now than it was then. We need to have this discussion.” Göttlich also took aim at FIFA President Gianni Infantino — widely seen as a close ally of Trump — accusing football’s leadership of applying double standards. “Qatar was too political for everyone, and now we’re completely apolitical?” he said. “That really, really bothers me.” His comments add momentum to a growing debate in Europe over whether global sport can remain insulated from politics as Trump ramps up pressure on allies — from threats surrounding Greenland to U.S. military action in Venezuela — while treating the World Cup as a major soft-power trophy of his second term. Not all governments are receptive. France’s sports minister said this week there was “no desire” in Paris to boycott the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, arguing that sport should remain separate from politics. Still, several European football leaders have already shown a willingness to wade into political disputes. The president of Norway’s football federation, Lise Klaveness, has repeatedly criticized human rights issues tied to major tournaments, while Ireland’s football association pushed to exclude Israel from international competition before the Gaza peace agreement last year. Göttlich also dismissed concerns that a boycott would unfairly punish players, including St. Pauli’s international stars. “The life of a professional player is not worth more than the lives of countless people in various regions who are being directly or indirectly attacked or threatened by the World Cup host,” he said.

urope has spent the last week rummaging around for leverage that would force U.S. President Donald Trump to back off his threats to seize Greenland from Denmark. While Trump now says he will not be imposing planned tariffs on European allies, some politicians think they’ve found the answer if he changes his mind again: boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The quadrennial soccer jamboree, which will be hosted in the U.S., Mexico and Canada this summer, is a major soft-power asset for Trump — and an unprecedented European boycott would diminish the tournament beyond repair. “Leverage is currency with Trump, and he clearly covets the World Cup,” said Adam Hodge, a former National Security Council official during the Biden administration. “Europe’s participation is a piece of leverage Trump would respect and something they could consider using if the transatlantic relationship continues to swirl down the drain.” With Trump’s Greenland ambitions putting the world on edge, key political figures who’ve raised the idea say that any decision on a boycott would — for now, at least — rest with national sport authorities rather than governments. “Decisions on participation in or boycott of major sport events are the sole responsibility of the relevant sports associations, not politicians,” Christiane Schenderlein, Germany’s state secretary for sport, told AFP on Tuesday. The French sport ministry said there are “currently” no government plans for France to boycott. That means, for the moment, a dozen soccer bureaucrats around Europe — representing the countries that have so far qualified for the tournament — have the power to torpedo Trump’s World Cup, a pillar of his second term in office like the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. (Another four European countries will be added in spring after the European playoffs are completed.) While they may not be household names, people like Spain’s Rafael Louzán, England’s Debbie Hewitt and the Netherlands’ Frank Paauw may now have more leverage over Trump than the European Commission with its so-called trade bazooka. “I think it is obvious that a World Cup without the European teams would be irrelevant in sports terms — with the exceptions of Brazil and Argentina all the other candidates in a virtual top 10 will be European — and, as a consequence, it would also be a major financial blow to FIFA,” said Miguel Maduro, former chair of FIFA’s Governance Committee. Several of the European soccer chiefs have already shown their willingness to enter the political fray. Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness has been outspoken on LGBTQ+ issues and the use of migrant labor in preparations for the 2022 World Cup. The Football Association of Ireland pushed to exclude Israel from international competition before the country signed the Gaza peace plan in October. “Football has always been far more than a sport,” Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, whose team is still competing for one of the four remaining spots, wrote in an open letter to his fellow federation presidents in September calling for Israel’s removal. Trump attempted Wednesday in Davos to cool tensions over Greenland by denying he would use military force to capture the massive, mineral-rich Arctic island. But during the same speech he firmly reiterated his desire to obtain it and demanded “immediate negotiations” with relevant European leaders toward that goal. Later in the day, in a social media post, Trump said he reached an agreement with NATO on a Greenland framework. His Davos remarks are unlikely to pacify European politicians across the political spectrum who want to see a tougher stance against the White House. “Seriously, can we imagine going to play the World Cup in a country that attacks its ‘neighbors,’ threatens to invade Greenland, destroys international law, wants to torpedo the UN, establishes a fascist and racist militia in its country, attacks the opposition, bans supporters from about 15 countries from attending the tournament, plans to ban all LGBT symbols from stadiums, etc.?” wondered left-wing French lawmaker Eric Coquerel on social media. Influential German conservative Roderich Kiesewetter also told the Augsburger Allgemeine news outlet: “If Donald Trump carries out his threats regarding Greenland and starts a trade war with the EU, I find it hard to imagine European countries participating in the World Cup.” Russia’s World Cup in 2018 faced similar calls for a boycott over the Kremlin’s illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, as did Qatar’s 2022 tournament over the Gulf petromonarchy’s dismal human rights record. While neither mooted boycott came to pass — indeed, the World Cup and the Olympics haven’t faced a major diplomatic cold shoulder since retaliatory snubs by countries for the Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympics — Trump’s seizure of Greenland would put Europe in a position with no recent historical parallel. Neither FIFA, the world governing body that organizes the tournament, nor four national associations contacted by POLITICO immediately responded to requests for comment. Tom Schmidtgen and Ferdinand Knapp contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is creating a new system intended to help expedite visas for fans traveling to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an unprecedented move aimed at managing an expected influx of millions attending the tournament. The new system, which President Donald Trump announced on Monday during an event at the White House, will give World Cup ticket holders priority access to U.S. visa interviews beginning in early 2026. “I’ve directed my administration to do everything within their power to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success,” Trump said from the Oval Office, where he was flanked by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and White House World Cup Task Force director Andrew Giuliani. Under the “FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System” — or FIFA PASS — program, people who purchase tickets directly through FIFA will be able to schedule expedited interviews at U.S. consulates around the world. However, Rubio emphasized that holding a ticket does not guarantee visa approval. “It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’ll still go through the same vetting process as anyone else. The only difference here is that we’re moving you up in line,” Rubio said. Rubio said the State Department has deployed more than 400 additional consular officers worldwide to meet demand, in some countries doubling the size of existing embassy staff. He cited Brazil and Argentina, both soccer powerhouses, where visa appointment wait times have dropped from over a year to less than two months. “In about 80 percent of the world now, you can get an appointment in under 60 days,” Rubio said. According to FIFA’s press release, FIFA PASS is part of a larger collaboration between the organization and the White House’s World Cup Task Force, on which Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro also serves. The administration is dedicating significant resources to ensuring the tournament’s success, and has been intensely focused on security for fans attending matches in the United States, which will host 78 of the tournament’s 104 games. Eleven American cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami, will welcome visitors alongside venues in Mexico and Canada. Infantino said between six and seven million tickets are expected to be sold for the expanded, 48-team tournament. “America welcomes the world,” Infantino said. “We have always said that this will be the greatest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history — and the FIFA PASS service is a very concrete example of that.”

World football governing body FIFA on Wednesday announced it will introduce an award “to reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.” The prize, called the FIFA Peace Prize, will be awarded annually, with the inaugural edition presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Dec. 3 during the final draw for FIFA World Cup 26 in Washington. “In an increasingly unsettled and divided world, it’s fundamental to recognise the outstanding contribution of those who work hard to end conflicts and bring people together in a spirit of peace,” said Gianni Infantino. Infantino has forged a close relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has spent much of his second term in office trying to broker peace in various conflicts around the world — and to ensure that he receives the recognition he feels is appropriate for his role as a peacemaker. Despite his best efforts, Trump did not get the Nobel Peace Prize he had been overtly lobbying for. The White House blasted the Nobel Committee for not awarding the prize to Trump last month, saying that it had “placed politics over peace.” Trump has also threatened to annex Greenland and Canada, and last week said the U.S. would recommence nuclear testing. In July, FIFA opened an office in New York’s Trump Tower and appointed Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, to the board of an education charity project co-funded by World Cup ticket sales. FIFA did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for a comment.