FIFA to Award 'World Cup Champion Ring' to Winner; Trump to Attend Final

New York. The world football governing body (FIFA) will present a special ring, the 'World Cup Champion Ring', to the winning team of the World Cup final match between Argentina and Spain to be held on Monday.

BBC has reported that US President Donald Trump will also be present at the stadium to watch this final match.

There is a long tradition in American sports culture of presenting rings to winning teams. Specifically, the team winning the Super Bowl of America's National Football League-NFL (American football) is presented with such a 'Champion Ring'. FIFA has adopted this American tradition for the World Cup winner for the first time in World Cup history.

Thirty special rings have been prepared for the team that becomes the World Champion. In addition, 1,996 more rings will be put on sale for supporters. Each ring includes a small World Cup trophy figure, and special patterns are engraved on its inner side.

President Trump, who will be present at the ceremony to present the World Cup trophy to the winning team, had not watched any of the 102 matches of the tournament live before this. He also missed the group stage matches played before the US team was defeated by Belgium in the Round of 16.

Meanwhile, a warning has been issued about the air quality in the New York region due to the wildfire in Canada. However, there is no indication that it will have any effect on the final match to be held at MetLife Stadium. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had previously stated that Trump would attend the final, and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has also officially confirmed Trump's attendance.

The relationship between Infantino and Trump had become the biggest controversy of this World Cup. It was revealed that Trump had called the FIFA president to review the red card shown to American striker Folarin Balogun. Subsequently, the decision was made to lift the automatic ban applicable to Balogun.

This move was widely criticized and raised questions about the fairness of the tournament. Although Balogun was able to play in the knockout match against Belgium after the ban was lifted, the US lost by a wide margin of 4-1. No other red or yellow card suspensions have been lifted in this World Cup, even though France and England had also requested reviews of decisions against their players.

Trump has regularly attended major sporting events during his two terms, including the Super Bowl, US Open Tennis, NBA Finals, and the Ryder Cup. He also hosted UFC competitions at the White House. The presence of the host nation's head of state at the World Cup final is not considered unusual.

This edition of the World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the final two matches being held in the United States. On Sunday, England and France will play for third place in Miami, while Argentina and Spain will compete for the World Cup title on Monday.