Pro soccer players open up on spreading peace through the sport at World Cup — and which sport is 'football'

The 2026 World Cup is shaping up to beryllium a flash constituent infinitesimal successful modern planetary relations, with the satellite coming to North America astatine a clip erstwhile planetary bid appears delicate.

A fistful of players and activists are stepping up to assistance beforehand bid done the sport. Team USA and San Jose Earthquakes defender DeJuan Jones and D.C. United guardant Dominique Badji lent their platforms to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for a seminar connected however shot tin assistance beforehand affirmative relations betwixt fans of competing countries. 

But with the World Cup coming to the U.S. for the archetypal clip since 1994, 1 constituent of statement amid those planetary relations is whether America should travel the remainder of the satellite successful calling the athletics football. 

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Cade Cowell #11 of the United States, Jesús Ferreira #9 of the United States, DeJuan Jones #15 of the United States, Matt Miazga #4 of the United States, and Aaron Long #3 of the United States cheer arsenic punishment kicks are being held during a crippled betwixt Canada and USMNT astatine TQL Stadium connected July 9, 2023 successful Cincinatti, Ohio. (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump adjacent said helium thinks America giving the sanction shot to soccer, portion renaming American shot thing other astatine the World Cup gully connected Sunday.

Both Jones and Badji hold with Trump, but they don't deliberation a implicit sanction alteration is feasible. 

"I deliberation that makes the astir sense, for shot to beryllium called football, however, we bash person the NFL, truthful I deliberation it would beryllium truly hard to alteration the sanction of the NFL," Jones told Fox News Digital. "So I deliberation we'll conscionable ever telephone it shot and, you know, radical mightiness laughter astatine america for it, but we tin person that arsenic what we telephone the sport." 

Badji, who was calved successful the African federation of Senegal, believes re-naming the athletics to shot would symbolically assistance the U.S. drawback up with the remainder of the satellite competitively successful the sport. But helium is besides alert of American football's taste dominance.

"By calling it shot here, you're competing with the biggest athletics successful the country… I deliberation it should beryllium football, due to the fact that that's what the remainder of the satellite calls it," Badji told Fox News Digital. 

"When you speech astir U.S. soccer, you're trying to get up to velocity with the remainder of the world, and it's conscionable a small obstruction successful soccer-football, but yet I deliberation it should beryllium called football. But it's a losing battle, you're not going to beryllium capable to alteration American shot to different name." 

One happening that some Jones and Badji judge tin beryllium feasibly addressed successful the U.S. by the clip the World Cup begins is instrumentality behaviour during games.

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In 2025 alone, shot matches crossed the satellite person been sites of convulsive instrumentality behavior. 

Just this period astatine a crippled for the French nine OGC France, players and unit were assaulted, spat connected and punched by their ain supporters aft a loss, and a antheral successful the U.K. was charged with racially abusing Bournemouth subordinate Antoine Semenyo during a Premier League lucifer against Liverpool. 

"The biggest happening is the instrumentality behavior," Jones said. "It's important that the adults are displaying due behaviour for the kids that are becoming adults."

Jones added of the upcoming World Cup, "There's going to beryllium a batch of radical from a batch of antithetic cultures, truthful I'm definite there's going to beryllium immoderate clashes, but I deliberation it's going to beryllium a large accidental arsenic good to observe each other's differences and larn astir each other's cultures.

"Security volition beryllium important, and you privation to marque definite that it's a harmless situation for everyone, and everyone tin conscionable bask the games and get location safely." 

Badji said helium is disappointed with the behaviour of fans astatine MLS games "all the time." 

"People flipping you off, radical saying slurs to you, I unluckily person had radical slurs thrown astatine me. I've heard different slurs thrown astatine different people, truthful it's unfortunate," helium said. 

Badji said 1 of his biggest hopes and goals of the upcoming World Cup is to "getting escaped of immoderate of the ignorance that comes with not knowing the cultures of antithetic countries." 

"Soccer volition bring radical unneurotic that mightiness not talk the aforesaid language," Badji, aboriginal adding, "Politics are truthful heavy progressive successful shot that sometimes it sways the mode radical comprehend different people, different teams, different countries"

It is simply a taxable that Badji and Jones spoke astir astatine the "Three Nations, One Game: North America’s Role successful Shaping Global Sportsmanship," sheet astatine the Ronald Reagan Institute's Center connected Civility and Democracy (CCD) successful downtown Washington, D.C., connected Dec. 2. They delivered their speeches alongside Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Andrew Giuliani, enforcement manager of the White House’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force. 

CCD Director Fred Ryan told Fox News Digital helium believes that adjacent much than the fans, the players are accountable for showing respect connected the tract successful bid to beforehand a peaceful environment. 

"There's been a fewer disappointing things from clip to time, there's an jock connected the tract who does not amusement respect for their hostile oregon rules of the crippled oregon the referee," Ryan said. "On the field, we privation to applaud bully sportsmanship, we privation to applaud radical who respect their opponent… and radical who respect the rules of the game." 

For Jones, 1 of his avenues for maintaining respect and promoting unity arsenic a subordinate connected the tract is by channeling his devotion to Jesus Christ.

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DeJuan Jones #15 of the United States anterior to the Semifinal lucifer of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Panama astatine Snapdragon Stadium connected July 12, 2023 successful San Diego, California.  Panama won the lucifer successful a Penalty Kick shootout aft a 1-1 draw. (Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

"I judge that Jesus Christ died for our sins and each day, honestly, erstwhile I'm speechmaking my Bible and praying and decidedly earlier I measurement onto the pitch, I conscionable inquire for the lord to support maine and to usher maine erstwhile I'm retired there," Jones said. 

"One of the biggest things Jesus teaches is conscionable to emotion your neighbour arsenic yourself… I deliberation a batch of times successful society, radical are looking retired for themselves, and immoderate gets them up but if we each conscionable had a small spot much empathy and looked to our neighbors and spot what we could bash to assistance alternatively of ever get thing and receiving… I deliberation that would spell a agelong mode successful making the satellite much peaceful." 

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