FIFA to Take Over KenCen

The blossoming friendship between FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump has resulted in FIFA taking over all of Kennedy Center for the 2026 World Cup Draw, rent-free. Never mind the resident companies' schedules. The Opera House will host the draw on Dec. 5, two days before the Kennedy Center Honors. FIFA has created a new annual "FIFA Peace Prize" to be awarded that same day and place. AP reports that Trump might be the first recipient, “given his strong alliance with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.”

Performances by the National Symphony between Nov. 24 and Dec. 12 have been postponed or relocated. And with ticket sales plummeting across the Center, the disruption can only make matters worse for resident companies

The decision to waive fees for the draw, for which no tickets will be available to the general public, is not unusual. State funds covered the expenses for recent events in Doha, Qatar, and Moscow. But for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Cape Town officials said it cost the city more than $6 million to stage the draw, with $4.7 million earmarked for renting the Cape Town International Convention Center. Four years later, the draw in Costa do Sauípe, Brazil reportedly cost FIFA $3.8 million and the state government $1.2 million.

What the Kennedy Center might have earned if FIFA paid to rent the facility for the draw is open to speculation. Single-night rental rates vary according to the space. The standard rates for the Concert Hall and the Eisenhower Theater are $39,000 and $18,000 respectively. A multiweek rental of much of the campus would almost surely cost significantly more.

FIFA does retain responsibility for production costs for the draw, which is a made-for-television event that will be seen around the world. It’s the moment when national teams are divided into their groups and learn their early opponents. Next year’s tournament will kick off on June 11 with the first of 104 matches spread across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Infantino’s decision to move the draw to Washington represents a type of consolation prize for his new best friend Donald Trump, an especially sumptuous one if FIFA awards its “peace “prize” to him. The host nation’s capital city generally plays a prominent part in World Cup festivities, but Washington will not stage any of the tournament’s matches.

Yahoo.com

Pictured: Trump and Infantino (AP)