429. The Immediately

On Sunday night, shortly after Spain won the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the President of the United States announced that he would be pushing FIFA to select the United States to host another World Cup "immediately."

The word "immediately" was used. This is the word that was chosen. "Immediately" means without delay. It means right now. It means the interval between the current moment and the desired event should approach zero. The President used this word in the context of a sporting competition that occurs every four years.

The 2026 World Cup was the largest tournament in FIFA history. It had just ended. The trophy had just been handed out. Confetti was, by most accounts, still in the air.

(The typical interval between World Cups is four years. The 2022 World Cup concluded in December of 2022. The 2026 World Cup concluded on Sunday. This is a four-year interval. Four years is, by most conventional definitions, the opposite of immediately. This is a factual observation and not a political one.)

FIFA did not immediately respond to the announcement. FIFA is the governing body of international football. FIFA has a documented relationship with the concept of time that is best described as flexible. FIFA once awarded a World Cup to a country with no grass. The suggestion that FIFA will act immediately on any matter should be understood in this context.

The President was present on the field for the trophy ceremony. He was there when Spain received the trophy. He was in the stadium when the tournament ended. He was, in other words, at the event when he announced his desire to do the event again.

The next World Cup is scheduled for 2030. The gap between 2026 and 2030 is four years. Four years is the amount of time the President would like to reduce to immediately. The math is noted.