Alan Rothenberg was the CEO and chairman of the USA-hosted 1994 FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer’s president in 1990-1998, and founder of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Major League Soccer. He recently authored, “The Big Bounce: The Surge That Shaped the Future of U.S. Soccer.”
SOCCER AMERICA: After Friday’s draw I thought back to attending the 1994 World Cup Draw in Las Vegas. How much fun it was, how much attendees from around the world enjoyed it. How it made us look forward to a fun summer.
After Friday’s 2026 World Cup Draw, it felt like I’d witnessed a weird exhibition of propaganda — FIFA creating a “Peace Prize” for President Trump. How did you feel about it?
ALAN ROTHENBERG: Obviously, it was totally different.
One part of me was proud of the fact that, until 1994, the draw had really just been a technical event. We made it into an entertainment event. They made it a bigger show than we did. I’m not going to make comparisons. Obviously, I loved ours.
It’s just a different political environment in FIFA. What people have said is pretty accurate from [Gianni] Infantino’s standpoint. He ingratiated himself to [Vladimir] Putin and the Al Thani [family], and he got great cooperation from those host countries [Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022].
And I think that’s what he’s doing here — what in his mind is best for the event. From [Donald] Trump’s standpoint — he’s a big sports fan, and beyond that, he wants to take credit for being the host of the greatest sports event in history. And also be out there in front of billions of people internationally.
SA: After the 1994 World Cup Draw was completed in December 1993, what sort of activity did that prompt from the organizing committee?
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