Andrew Giuliani has been named executive director of the White House FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force and is leading the federal government’s preparations for the tournament, according to ESPN. The role places him at the center of a coalition that includes cabinet secretaries, federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies such as the FBI, the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security, ESPN reported.
Giuliani told ESPN he first called the West Wing when he heard about the job and spent a week pitching President Donald Trump on why he was the best choice. “Some of that I want to leave between the president and myself,” he said to ESPN. Giuliani acknowledged he did not have law enforcement experience but said he could anticipate the president’s priorities; Trump told him he would “think about it,” and after a series of interviews Giuliani received word of the appointment, ESPN reported.
With the tournament opening Thursday, Giuliani described the assignment as high-stakes. “We have a zero-fail mission,” he told ESPN, adding officials are “focused on making sure nothing goes wrong.” ESPN said Giuliani recognizes the success of the effort will be measured in the starkest of terms over the next six weeks.
Giuliani, 40, has known Trump for most of his life because of his father, Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, ESPN reported. He described Trump as “like an uncle” and said the relationship was deepened by a long-standing Saturday golf game. Giuliani said those ties and a long familiarity with Trump help him anticipate where the president may be on an issue; he added he sometimes goes weeks without speaking with Trump.
When Trump announced the appointment in May 2025, he joked, “It’s a big post. You better do well, Andrew,” according to ESPN. Giuliani said he sought his father’s advice on assembling a team. ESPN also reported Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized in May with severe pneumonia in what Giuliani called a “very near-death health scare,” and that Andrew graduated from Duke and had unsuccessfully sued the school after being kicked off the golf team.
