U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted a threat to countries opposing North America’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup — and the global soccer organization FIFA promptly pointed to ethics rules prohibiting any nation from wielding “undue influence.”The U.S. has presented a joint bid with Mexico and Canada for the right to host the world’s biggest sporting event. Morocco has issued a competing bid. The North American proposal has hit stiff resistance because of Trump’s travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations, the perception that the U.S. is increasingly hostile to foreigners, and resentment over Trump’s reported reference to Haiti and African nations last year as “shithole countries.”The World Cup host will be announced on June 13 after a vote by all FIFA member nations. On Thursday, Trump touted America’s “strong bid” to host the event — and appeared to threaten that the U.S. might withdraw “support” from countries that lobby against it.

Source: Huffington Post April 28, 2018 03:00 UTC