The 2038 World Cup is already being spoken about in the blunt, forward-looking way football politics so often demands: not as a fantasy, but as a question of timing, eligibility and power. Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House's World Cup task force, has started talking publicly about the United States considering a bid for the tournament. That is not a formal announcement. It is, however, the kind of early movement that tells you the next fight for hosting rights is already being mapped out.
And make no mistake, this is the next host-cycle conversation. FIFA has already locked in 2030 and 2034, with the 2030 World Cup scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 8, 2030 and end on Sunday, July 21, 2030, before Saudi Arabia takes 2034. For 2038, there is no formal bidding process yet and no host country has been selected. But the rotation rules mean North America and Oceania are the regions most likely to be eligible, which is why this is more than idle speculation. It is a long-range contest waiting for its trigger.
Why the 2038 World Cup talk matters
The United States has already seen what major tournament hosting can do to the game’s scale. Stadiums across North America helped drive a new all-time attendance record, with more than 4.6 million fans through the turnstiles. That matters because it strengthens the argument that the country can stage another enormous World Cup and do it at a level FIFA will find hard to ignore.
But the logic cuts both ways. A country can make a compelling case on infrastructure, crowds and commercial pull, yet still have to wait for FIFA’s structure to catch up. Right now, that structure says 2038 is not open. No formal bidding process has begun. No host has been chosen. So while the United States may be talking about a bid, the reality is that this is a positioning exercise as much as a campaign.
That does not make it irrelevant. It makes it strategic. Once 2030 and 2034 are out of the way, the conversation shifts to who is left standing in the next cycle. On current rules, North America and Oceania are the regions most likely to contend, which is why Giuliani’s comments are the first meaningful noise around a tournament that is still years from becoming real.
The bigger point is simple: the United States is not talking about a token gesture. It is talking about another serious place at FIFA’s table. Whether that becomes a bid, and whether FIFA opens the door in time for it to matter, remains to be seen. But the early message is clear enough. The 2038 World Cup race has not started officially. It has just started to become impossible to ignore.
