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00:00We are here with the Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mr.
00:07Andrew Giuliani.
00:08It's a pleasure to have you here in Grupo RBS.
00:13Thanks for talking with us, Mr. Giuliani, and congratulations on this tournament.
00:18Thank you, Rodrigo. I appreciate it. Great being with you.
00:20It's been amazing to see now through 100 matches with, you know, four to go here,
00:26just the world's love affair with the United States of America.
00:30For us to be able to celebrate our 250th birthday with the rest of the world this way,
00:35to see this version of the World Cup play out better than we could ever imagine,
00:41it's been very satisfying and gratifying.
00:44Looking back at this tournament so far, Mr. Giuliani, how would you assess this World Cup,
00:49the first with 48 teams? What place do you think it will this tournament hold in football history?
00:55Well, you know, you'd probably have to ask the soccer experts on that,
00:59but I will say that the fact that we're talking, the cultural love, right,
01:05whether it's the Scots in Boston, or I'm thinking about this, actually,
01:09I was down in Miami when Scotland and Brazil played,
01:11and to see the Brazilians, who obviously have such a rich history of soccer,
01:19knowing the last time the 94 World Cup came here, that they won,
01:23interact with the Scots, who are so enthusiastic, right,
01:28that no Scotland, no party really, really is more than just a moniker.
01:34But that was amazing to see, the Norwegians and rowing all around the United States,
01:39the respect for the Japanese, the fact that we're talking about that,
01:43the fact that we're talking about the great play on the pitch,
01:46when you think about it, four of the best teams in the world
01:50ended up making it to the semifinals between England and Argentina,
01:54and then, obviously, France and Spain as well.
01:58This has been a fantastic tournament, and again,
02:01for us to be able to do this over our semi-quincentennial
02:04makes it all the more special.
02:06Mr. Juliano, you know that I'm here now in Atlanta
02:09to cover the match, Argentina against England,
02:13a fantastic semifinal.
02:14It has been a safe World Cup so far without any issue involving violence.
02:20Argentina and England will meet here in Atlanta.
02:24Are there any particular concerns associated with this match
02:29because of the rivalry surrounding the Falkland or Malvinas Island
02:34and the large number of passionate fans that are expected to attend the match?
02:40You know, look, we obviously look at the geopolitical situation around every match
02:45and what kind of complications that can bring because of that.
02:49You mentioned one right there in particular.
02:52I think the good thing that we've seen is Argentinian fans that have been here
02:57as well as English fans that have been here through the first six matches
03:01have been here to really enjoy this World Cup, right?
03:04They've come in and they've been great.
03:06Some of the real reasons behind that, too,
03:08is what the Argentinian and English governments do in their own right
03:12in making sure that bad actors do not have the opportunity to travel
03:16for tournaments like that.
03:18So in English, obviously, the hooligans, similar in Argentina.
03:22And that really shows, I think, the passion of the overwhelming majority
03:27of the fan bases, right?
03:29I mean, what we kind of like to say in America when you see like a football team,
03:34let's say, who has a fan base who may be a little bit rowdy
03:38or something like that, generally it's one out of 100
03:41and, you know, one bad apple can ruin the bunch.
03:44But what we've seen is really the English fans being extremely enthusiastic.
03:50Same thing with the Argentinians.
03:51I was in Kansas City for their opening match when Messi scored the hat trick.
03:55And you could see the day before the rally taking over one of the parks in Argentina.
04:01So, look, while we, you know, continue to meet over the last six days
04:05and will in preparation for this match and the other three matches that will exist
04:09to make sure that there are no issues and we're working directly
04:11with our state and local counterparts in Atlanta, in Georgia,
04:15same thing in Dallas, in Texas, and then eventually Miami and Florida
04:19and New York, New Jersey.
04:21We'll continue to make sure that we focus on the details
04:24so we close this tournament out with the success that we've had over the first month.
04:31You know, Mr. Juliano, in Brazil, there are some people that usually say,
04:35yeah, in the United States, they don't like soccer so much.
04:38And that's not what I am seeing.
04:40I am seeing a lot of American fans excited with this World Cup.
04:46I read that the match against Belgium had a record of audience more than NBA Finals, for example.
04:54What's the legacy of this tournament for the United States?
04:59And is there any possibility for the United States to be a candidate to host the 2038 World Cup?
05:07That's a great question.
05:08I'll answer it two ways from a legacy perspective.
05:10I'll answer the soccer and then I'll answer the United States.
05:13I think from a soccer perspective, look at the 1994 World Cup that Brazil ended up winning here.
05:20And you can see just how much soccer has grown in the United States since then, right?
05:24Go back to before then, there was no MLS.
05:27There was no Women's Soccer League.
05:2994 World Cup happens.
05:31Brazil wins.
05:321996 Major League Soccer is created.
05:35And it's been successful over the last 30 years,
05:38where you now have multiple franchise worth over a billion dollars.
05:41Then you've got the 1999 Women's World Cup.
05:45The U.S. famously wins that.
05:47National Women's Soccer League is created years later.
05:50We're seeing a lot of success there in the growth of franchises.
05:54I think this 2026 World Cup will just continue that immense growth of soccer.
06:01Now, look, I think probably when people in Brazil are saying it, everything is relative.
06:05How could we have more passion than the Brazilians have for soccer, right?
06:09That's going to be impossible.
06:10But if we can come close to matching that, then we'll be doing very, very well in the United States.
06:16In terms of the legacy of the country here for the United States,
06:20I think it shows over this 250th birthday,
06:23A, the world's love affair for the United States of America,
06:27that the U.S. is an extremely hospitable country,
06:31a country that is really, really unique.
06:34And if the world can see that, the world can experience some of that with us,
06:39some of that welcoming,
06:41you know, just the fact that from the B1, B2 visa perspective,
06:44a few years ago in Rio de Janeiro, you had over a 700-day wait time.
06:50That got down to less than a month during this World Cup.
06:53If the world can see some of those freedoms and take that,
06:57take a little bit of that back with them,
06:59could you imagine just how much better the whole world will be?
07:02And about 2038, I don't know if you are able to talk about it.
07:06Is there any chance for us to come back to the U.S. in 2038 to see a World Cup
07:11here?
07:12You know, there haven't been any serious discussions about it.
07:15But what I can tell you is when you look at how big this World Cup was,
07:21has been and will close out being.
07:24I'm biased, but I think there's only one country.
07:27And obviously we did it with Canada, Mexico as well.
07:30But I think there's only one country that can be the centerpiece
07:34for hosting a global event the way that it is.
07:38And that's the U.S.
07:41So I don't know if that decision will be up to me.
07:43But if I had to advocate for it, then I would advocate that the United States
07:48should host the World Cup sooner rather than later.
07:51Mr. Giuliani, there are some issues that has generated considerable discussions in Brazil.
07:57And I believe it's important and fair to hear about this topic directly from you.
08:03For example, about the decision to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card,
08:10given by a Brazilian referee, Rafael Klaus,
08:13some critics viewed it as a political intervention
08:17by the President Donald Trump in the competition.
08:20How would you respond to those who see it that way?
08:25So I would look and I would kind of give people the context of,
08:28first and foremost, President Trump and FIFA President Johnny Infantino
08:33speak three or four times a week, right?
08:35I mean, so the fact of them talking,
08:37this is just part of a normal conversation, first and foremost.
08:41And then I would look at the facts specifically of the red card
08:45and the fact that he was deposed, right?
08:48This referee was deposed in a match-fixing investigation in the past
08:53for giving irregular red cards.
08:56When you look at that 64th minute, right, and specifically that contact foul,
09:01a FIFA referee should have known in that moment
09:04that VAR could not be used in slow motion to review that.
09:10When you add that to what I had mentioned before and you see that,
09:14then we have to take a look at it and say,
09:17well, look, we put billions of dollars on the line
09:20to make sure this World Cup was a success
09:22from a safety and security perspective, from a welcoming perspective,
09:26but also from an integrity perspective.
09:29And that's ultimately what we looked at.
09:31I think FIFA ended up getting the right decision on this one.
09:35And I would hope that soccer fans would want a host country
09:39to make sure that the World Cup was full of integrity on its shores.
09:44That's what we looked to achieve, and that's what we did.
09:46Mr. Giuliani, other topic that generated discussion
09:50was the exclusion of Somali referee Omar Abdul Qadir.
09:55Could you explain why was this referee banned?
09:59And more broadly, immigration restrictions prevented some supporters
10:03from traveling to the United States for the World Cup.
10:07How do you balance the legitimate national security concerns
10:11with the need to ensure that the World Cup remains a global event?
10:16Well, as I said before, one of our real focuses on the task force
10:19was getting as many fans in as possible,
10:22from creating the FIFA pass that would allow ticket holders
10:25the ability to get to the front of the queue
10:27so that way they could get their visa adjudicated,
10:30not going around national security concerns,
10:32to the surging of state consular affairs staff
10:36in places like Rio de Janeiro and Brazil,
10:39cutting down those B1, B2 wait times
10:42from over 700 days to less than a month.
10:45I think it's an incredible example
10:46of being able to balance those national security concerns,
10:50not changing the actual education process, right,
10:54going through it, the adjudication process, I should say,
10:57while also making sure as many can be adjudicated as possible.
11:03And then what was the first question?
11:06Sorry, I forgot.
11:08About the referees from Somalia that was banned.
11:12So, yeah, what I would tell you is
11:14every single player got in the country.
11:17We gave visas to every single coach got in the country.
11:20There was one referee who did not.
11:22And you mentioned the national security concerns before.
11:25As I said before, he was talking to some very bad people
11:29in his lead-up to the coming to the United States of America.
11:32What Secretary Rubio, Secretary Mullen said,
11:35and what my instructions were directly
11:36from the President of the United States was,
11:39there's no bad actors that comes to the United States of America
11:43utilizing a soccer tournament as the guys to come to our shores.
11:47We achieved that.
11:48Mr. Giuliani, another issue that I'm sure
11:53that it was not easy to handle, right?
11:55Iran played in the World Cup in the United States
11:59during a moment of tension between both countries.
12:03How do you assess the way the United States handled that situation
12:07with Iran being based in Mexico and playing in the United States?
12:12Sure, I think it was very fairly.
12:13One thing to point out, it was Iran's decision
12:16to change base camps from Tucson to Tijuana.
12:20So that was their decision.
12:22I think they said they were happy about that decision.
12:25Mexico was happy about the decision.
12:27We as the U.S. government were happy as well.
12:29So that was one of those where everybody wins in that scenario.
12:33When we assessed the flight time from Tijuana to Los Angeles,
12:36it's only 27 minutes.
12:38It's a short flight.
12:40We understood that coming in one day before was plenty of time for them to be able to get prepared.
12:47So they came in one day early for that 27-minute flight to L.A.
12:51We gave them an extra day to go to Seattle, which is a three-hour flight.
12:56So that way they would have the extra day to be able to come in.
12:59Again, we let all the players, all the coaches, all those people that would be on the pitch,
13:04whether it was in a coaching or a playing scenario, to come to the United States.
13:10We didn't let some of the officials in.
13:11And that was, frankly, because of their direct ties to the IRGC and the Iranian government.
13:17I think it was very fair.
13:19I think it was very reasonable.
13:20You could see that with the tie that they played to Belgium, let's say,
13:25that they had the opportunity to achieve competitive balance on the field.
13:30That was because of the great work of the Department of Homeland Security,
13:36Consular Affairs, and the State Department and the White House Task Force.
13:39Before my last question, Mr. Giuliani, I doubt,
13:42will the President Donald Trump be in the final or in any semifinal?
13:47I'm going to tell people they've got to keep tuning in, right?
13:50You have six days.
13:51My president absolutely loves to leave a cliffhanger there.
13:55So I think my guess is you're going to see him this week at some point,
14:01and it's going to be a lot of fun.
14:03My last question is about the work of the White House Task Force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
14:12Could you summarize what was your job during the World Cup,
14:17and what were the challenges you assess about your job to organize a huge tournament
14:24and successful tournament like that, and the message to Brazilians?
14:29Yeah.
14:29Well, first and foremost, I'm sorry to the Brazilians that the 2026 World Cup
14:34was not as successful as the 1994 World Cup.
14:38As you can imagine, with a surname like Giuliani, while the U.S. is always my top team,
14:43I root for the Italians.
14:45One of the disappointments was the Italians not qualifying for this World Cup,
14:49but obviously everybody knows that famous match in 1994 at the Rose Bowl
14:54where the Brazilians took down Italy, one of the great matches ever.
14:59I was a big Baggio fan growing up there, how flamboyant, amazing he was on the pitch there,
15:05scoring five goals throughout the group stage.
15:07Everybody remembers the penalty kicks, but what a good guy,
15:10and what an incredible victory that was for Brazil.
15:15Obviously, you guys are the most World Cups ever, the five World Cups, one of the great soccer nations.
15:23I hope that you guys had the opportunity, in spite of the fact that you won't be lifting up that
15:28trophy,
15:29which you're so used to lifting up, that you got to really enjoy the United States
15:34and see the United States for what it is, this incredible bastion of freedom,
15:39this incredible experiment that 250 years later is getting better and better by the year,
15:45and that you're able to learn from that and continue to come to the United States
15:53and see that here in your homeland, right?
15:56As President Trump says, America first is never America only.
16:01I would then also look at kind of my role in this, and it's very difficult to summarize,
16:07but we were in charge of the safety and security of this World Cup,
16:10of the B-1, B-2 visa process, marrying consular affairs at the State Department
16:16to CBP at Homeland Security, and that incredible work done by those departments,
16:21to the transportation, working with Secretary Duffy and his team over at D-1,
16:29and seamlessly, and then the legacy, and this is probably the way to summarize it more than anything.
16:34This World Cup, we hope, and I believe, was a great representation of American exceptionalism
16:41over our first 250 years, and that hope and promise that this American experiment offers over the next 250 years.
16:51Mr. Giuliani, thank you very much for the opportunity to talk to you.
16:55Congratulations on this amazing World Cup.
16:58Thank you for, thanks to your team, right, Mrs. Heather McBride, Carrie Potter,
17:05and I wish you a great tournament in the semifinals and in the final.
17:11Thank you so much for the opportunity for us to give your award to Brazilian people.
17:17Thank you, Rodrigo. I appreciate it.
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