Next summer, the United States will co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> in 11 cities across the country.<\/p>\n Soccer is a sport that has seen exponential growth in the United States in recent years, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino is confident the 2026 World Cup is sure to expedite that growth.<\/p>\n “What is seen outside of the United States is that, of course, in America, other sports are more important than soccer, which is the most important sport all over the world and every other country virtually,” Infantino said during an appearance on “The Herd” on Tuesday<\/a>. “But the two World Cups \u2014\u00a0the one this summer with the clubs and with the countries next year \u2014\u00a0we will change this fundamentally.”<\/p>\n But he also thinks there’s still more that can be done to make soccer the unequivocal No. 1 sport in the U.S.<\/p>\n “You are the United States of America, the greatest country in the world.” \u00a0“You are No. 1 in everything that you do. You cannot be satisfied with being No. 20 in the No. 1 sport in the world; you want to be No. 1, so let\u2019s go for it.”<\/p>\n His suggestion on \u00a0how the U.S. can get there?<\/p>\n “They should listen to me!” Infanto said with a laugh. “They\u2019d become No. 1 in the world.”<\/p>\n Infantino also sees an opportunity for increased investment in the sport.<\/p>\n “The impact will be global,” Infaninto said. “The Super Bowl, which is fantastic, has what? \u2014 120-130 million viewers; the World Cup has six billion viewers? A World Cup is 104 Super Bowls in one month. That\u2019s three Super Bowls a day. This happens from here and this can happen every week if you have the best league in the world.”<\/p>\n