Fifa will present World Cup rings to the winners of tomorrow’s final between Argentina and Spain, which will be attended by American President, Donald Trump.
Winner rings are a tradition in American sport, with the NFL’s Super Bowl victors presented with them.
Thirty rings will be made available to the world champions, and a further 1,996 rings will go on sale to fans. Each ring will include a mini World Cup trophy in its design and an engraving in the band.
President Trump, who is to present the trophy, has not attended any of the 102 World Cup games so far, missing all of the USA’s matches before they went out to Belgium in the last 16.
There is a weather warning in New York over air quality caused by wildfires in Canada, but there is no suggestion the final at MetLife Stadium will be affected.
Fifa president, Gianni Infantino had already said Trump would attend the final and White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt has confirmed he will.
The relationship between Infantino and Trump has been at the heart of the biggest controversy at this summer’s World Cup, with the US president calling the Fifa chief to seek a review of United States striker, Folarin Balogun’s red card.
The subsequent decision to suspend Balogun’s automatic ban tions raised about the integrity of the tournament.
Balogun was allowed to feature in the knockout game against Belgium, but the USA suffered a 4-1 thrashing.
No other red or yellow cards have been suspended during this World Cup, despite France and England appealing to have their own respective incidents reviewed.
Trump has a history of going to big sporting events, attending the Super Bowl, the US Open tennis tournament, the NBA finals and the Ryder Cup and hosting the UFC at the White House during his two presidential terms.
It is not unusual for heads of states in host countries to attend World Cup finals.
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