The White House has withheld required government guarantees for the United States-led 2031 Women’s World Cup bid as the Trump administration pressures FIFA to change its transgender athlete policy, according to multiple sources familiar with the negotiations.
President Donald Trump has yet to sign off on mandatory commitments including obligatory visas, tax exemptions, and security provisions needed for the World Cup bid to advance. The guarantees typically process via US Soccer before reaching FIFA as part of the bidding package.
The joint proposal from the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica remains FIFA's only bid for the expanded 2031 tournament. However, FIFA approval originally planned for the April 30th congress has been delayed until later in 2026. The move stems from the White House failing to provide the necessary documentation despite the bid's formal presentation in October 2025.
FIFA holds only one bid for the 2031 Women's World Cup, giving significant leverage to the White House in its effort to pressure soccer's governing body to adopt an IOC-style gender policy banning transgender athletes from women's sports.
White House Links World Cup Guarantees to Gender Policy Change
Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 banning athletes not assigned female at birth from women's sports. The order instructed the Secretary of State to use "all appropriate and available measures" to enforce this policy across international sports organizations.
"President Trump's leadership has set a new standard for protecting the integrity of women's sports," Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup, told The Athletic . "We urge the entire sports world to commit to this principle and ensure fair competition for female athletes."
In March 2026, the International Olympic Committee announced compulsory gene testing that bars transgender athletes from competing in women's events. The IOC policy claims it "protects fairness, safety, and integrity in the female category." World Athletics implemented a similar gender policy in July 2025 in the lead-up to the Tokyo World Championships.
FIFA has spent nearly four years reviewing its gender eligibility regulations. However, it has not issued guidance beyond its 2011 gender verification standards. The standing gender policy does not dictate set testosterone minimums.
US Soccer Faces Political Pressure Tied to White House Guarantees
US Soccer submitted its bid book in late 2025, naming 14 US stadiums among 20+ proposed North American venues. The current four-country bid identified venues in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Seattle, Arlington, and East Rutherford.
Sources at US Soccer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Athletic the guarantees had not arrived but insisted there had been "positive dialogue." (US Soccer declined to provide a direct statement.)
The 2031 tournament is set to become the biggest Women's World Cup yet, expanding from 32 to 48 teams. The joint bid estimates $4 billion in potential revenue — approximately eight times the 2023 World Cup's earnings.
"We have some time to figure it out. There's gonna be a ton of learnings from the '26 Men's World Cup," US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said. "FIFA has been a great partner. We'll continue those conversations."
