The soccer stadium being built for New York City FC in Willets Point, Queens, attracted some fresh attention from one of the most famous former residents of the World's Borough: Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States of America.
President Trump toured the Middle East this week, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. He made his final stop earlier today in Abu Dhabi, which also happens to be the source of all the money that funds the continued existence of New York City FC and the other teams grouped under the City Football Group multi-club-model umbrella. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the owner of CFG and all its teams and also happens to be vice president and deputy prime minister of the UAE.
While showing live footage of President Trump meeting with a collection of "business leaders" in Abu Dhabi to round out his trip, the Fox News Channel picked up a moment that feels supremely surreal to any longstanding followers of NYCFC or Major League Soccer: The sitting President of the United States learning, seemingly for the first time, about the $780 million Etihad Park being built in The Valley of Ashes in Willets Point.
Trump: So where is it? A: Queens Trump: I know the area well. I grew up in Queens… Will they be using that in the Olympics?
— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) May 16, 2025 at 4:13 AM
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If you watch the above clip, you'll see Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the chairman of City Football Group, is part of the group of UAE business leaders holding court with The Donald.
Al Mubarak is the one who chimes in to let President Trump know that NYCFC's new Etihad Park home is being built "right next to Citi Field," which leads the president down memory lane.
"That’s where they used to fix the cars. A lot of other things got fixed there. A lot of things...That's a great site," said President Trump of the Willets Point stadium location once synonymous with ash heaps, auto-body shops, and generations of environmental and infrastructural neglect.
Trump goes on to ask about the stadium's capacity (25,000) and if it will be used primarily for soccer (yes, and concerts, too) before things take a slight turn for the weird.
The weird part comes when President Trump wonders if the Queens stadium will be used during the 2028 Summer Olympics, which are set to take place thousands of miles across the country in Los Angeles, California – as well as if Etihad Park will be used during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see matches exclusively played in venues with capacities greater than 40,000, nevermind the fact that the smaller Queens soccer stadium won't be ready for action until some time in 2027.
Andrew Leigh
It's likely too much to expect President Trump to understand the nuances of FIFA venue requirements or to know about the construction timeline for the first soccer-specific stadium ever built in New York City.
The US president, though, does spend an awful lot of time with current FIFA president Gianni Infantino, so it's fair to wonder if Trump is becoming more of a "soccer guy" here in his second presidential term.
Infantino joined Trump for a portion of the president's tour of the Gulf states, with Infantino even drawing the ire of FIFA delegates by showing up hours late to a FIFA Congress being held in Paraguay due to his busy schedule accompanying Trump across the Middle East.
FIFA is all-in on the United States from now through 2026 given the country is hosting the Club World Cup and full-on World Cup in back-to-back summers, so Infantino maintains a steady presence in the country and alongside the country's current leader. Donald Trump has a long history of inserting himself into the sports world (for better or worse), in New York and elsewhere, and he appears to be leaning into soccer now that FIFA is rolling out its red carpet and hosting its big showcase events here in the United States.
Trump's interest in and awareness of NYCFC's new Willets Point soccer stadium raises an immediate question: Will the President decide to check out a match in Queens once the venue opens? Trump's youngest son, Barron, is a soccer fan and a former player, so might he drag his old man out for a trip to the old stomping grounds to see some footy?
Hudson River Blue asked the White House press office to comment on whether or not there are plans for any future Trump visits to Etihad Park and we will update this story if we ever hear back.
