Fifa has announced that the winners of Sunday’s final between Argentina and Spain – which Donald Trump will attend – will receive World Cup rings.
In American sports , it ’s a tradition that winners get rings. The NFL champions get Super Bowl rings.
The world champions will receive 30 rings, and another 1,996 rings will be available for sale to fans. Each ring will feature a mini–World Cup trophy as part of its design, along with an engraving in the band.
President Trump, who will present the trophy, has not been to a single one of the 102 games played in the World Cup so far, missing all of the USA’s matches before they lost to Belgium in the last 16.
There is a weather warning in New York over air quality caused by wildfires in Canada, but no suggestion the final at MetLife Stadium will be affected.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino had already said Trump would be at the final and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed he is going.
Infantino has been at the centre of the biggest controversy at this summer’s World Cup, with the US president calling the Fifa chief to ask for a review of United States striker Folarin Balogun’s red card.
That decision to suspend Balogun’s automatic ban was heavily criticised, with questions raised over the integrity of the tournament.
Balogun got the nod to play in the knockout match against Belgium, but the USA were hammered 4-1.
No red or yellow card suspensions have been issued at this World Cup, although France and England asked for their own incidents to be reviewed.
