The year 1994 proved rather pivotal in the life of Andrew Giuliani. That summer, he took a trip with his parents to the swamps of New Jersey, where the Republic of Ireland beat Italy on the opening weekend of the World Cup.
‘The first major soccer game I went to,’ Giuliani, a descendant of Italian immigrants, tells the Daily Mail. It was a monumental upset and it came six months after another memorable day out with his dad.
In January 1994, Giuliani was just seven when his father Rudy gave his inaugural address after being sworn in as mayor of New York City.
Before long, however, many people had stopped listening and started watching the show unfolding nearby. Andrew – then a chubby boy with blond hair and buck teeth – stood beside his father, waving to the crowd, blowing kisses, mimicking his father and even belting out lines of the speech.
Before long, he was satirized on Saturday Night Live, became a figure of fun and even a lightning rod for questions about his father’s fitness for office.
Three decades later, soccer is back on American soil and, once again, Giuliani finds himself at the right hand of a powerful New Yorker. Last May, Donald Trump chose the 40-year-old to lead the White House’s World Cup Task Force.
Andrew Giuliani was appointed executive director of the 2026 World Cup Task Force last year
When he was seven, he stole the show as his father was sworn in as mayor of New York City
With a month to go until kickoff, the 2026 World Cup in North America is mired in controversy
‘He understands that this is the largest platform that that the US will have to show off American exceptionalism over our 250th birthday,’ Giuliani explains. ‘It just doesn’t get any bigger, it’s a great opportunity to show off the greatness of our country.’
Trump takes personal credit for ensuring the US, Mexico and Canada were chosen as co-hosts and this summer America will host 78 of the 104 games across 11 cities.
As Task Force executive director, Giuliani is entrusted with plotting the federal government’s path through this logistical labyrinth. Among his tasks? Helping put together a mammoth security operation costing nearly $1 billion, and speaking with Trump to discuss which games he wants to attend.
The president’s instructions were clear enough: ‘Help plan the biggest, safest and most extraordinary soccer tournament in history.’ A tournament entwined with Trump’s own legacy. No pressure, then.
Alas, this World Cup has been plagued by chaos over the past 12 months. Some issues have been self-inflicted by Gianni Infantino and FIFA, others have been sparked by decisions made down the corridor of the West Wing.
As the clock ticks down to kickoff, Giuliani sat down with the Daily Mail to discuss why ticket prices are ‘exorbitant,’ why players must pass security vetting to appear at the World Cup, how America will guard against ‘billions’ of possible attacks this summer and why he deserves credit for Rory McIlroy’s first Masters victory. Well, sort of.
Giuliani’s soccer credentials are rather limited – he would fancy the United States Men’s National Team’s (USMNT) chances of winning the World Cup if he was coaching their opponents. But he has known Trump since he was a kid – ‘which I think really helps in this role’ – and his life has been spent straddling the increasingly blurred lines between sports and politics.
Giuliani is a former professional golfer whose father is one of America’s most consequential and controversial figures of recent times. Rudy Giuliani went after the Mafia and was christened ‘America’s Mayor’ in the wake of 9/11. In recent years, he has been a Trump attorney and attack dog who became synonymous with hair dye and Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
Giuliani was in the crowd as the Republic of Ireland upset Italy at the 1994 World Cup
Giuliani is a former professional golfer who once played with Tiger Woods as a youngster
There is now less than a month to go until the World Cup kicks off and so far the countdown has been a rolling scandal over issues such as transport, visas, war and peace prizes.
Perhaps no issue has proven more toxic than ticket prices. Even Trump said last week he ‘wouldn’t pay’ to watch the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay, for which the cheapest seat on one resale site costs nearly $1,000 site
Giuliani admits the prices are ‘exorbitant.’ But don’t expect his Task Force to intervene. ‘The amount of requests of tickets – which crossed the half-billion mark in late January just shows the demand’ he says.
‘There are seven million tickets available, [so] you can see why the prices might be exorbitant. But as the federal government, that hasn’t been part of our mission set. We’re not believers in price controls.’
They are, however, firm advocates for strong borders. Fans of four teams – Iran, Haiti, Senegal and Ivory Coast – are banned from traveling to the US, barring some narrow exceptions. Many others face paying a deposit of up to $15,000 before being let in. And for a while, it seemed those who made it over the border risked bumping into ICE agents at games. They were going to be a ‘key part’ of World Cup security, we were told. Now, it seems, agents won’t be patrolling stadiums after all.
So what is Giuliani’s message to fans hoping to make the trip?
‘We want to make sure that anybody who has laid down all this money to come to the World Cup at least has the opportunity to get their case reviewed here,’ he says.
‘[But] They still need to go through the security checks and procedures. None of those have changed for the World Cup.’ More than 5 million visa applications have already been processed from 19 World Cup nations, apparently. But one delegation might run into more issues than most.
Somehow, uncertainty remains over Iran’s place at the tournament. They are slated to play group games in Los Angeles and Seattle. Their citizens have been also subject to a travel ban since June 2025.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has faced intense criticism over World Cup ticket prices
Mauricio Pochettino is tasked with leading the US Men’s National Team this summer
Then earlier this year, war broke out with Israel and America and Trump warned their players to stay away ‘for their own life and safety.’ Since then? More threats, more mudslinging, more conflict in the Middle East.
As it stands? Iran has suggested it will take part provided ten conditions are met. They include a guarantee that every player, coach and official will be granted visas, even those who have done military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
‘In my conversations with Mr Infantino and his team, the plan all along is that Iran will play their games here,’ Giuliani said ahead of this latest development. ‘President Trump has been clear that they’re invited to play.’
But the White House has red lines, too. ‘What they can’t bring is a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio said recently. Both the US and Canada have designated the IRGC a terrorist organization.
‘Obviously [with] all these countries, we do security vets on players, coaches, support staff around the team,’ Giuliani explained. ‘And they need to clear those security vets as well – each visa decision is a national security decision. We want to make sure, first and foremost, that it’s a safe event. That will make it successful.’
That won’t be easy, though. Not with the US, Canada, and Mexico co-hosting the largest World Cup in history at a time when relations between neighbors are frayed.
Giuliani has said America is expecting ‘billions’ of cyberattacks this summer, with the World Cup set to be one of the most targeted events of Trump’s second term. Experts, meanwhile, have warned the Daily Mail about a possible ‘awakening’ of Iranian sleeper cells and the ‘imminent danger’ of deadly drone attacks.
Uncertainty remains over Iran’s participation in the tournament after war broke out in the Middle East
Cole Tomas Allen, a suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. There are increased terror fears ahead of the World Cup
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has given host cities a combined $625 million to – among other things – help ‘strengthen security… against potential terrorist attack.’ Another $250 million has been invested to protect the skies from drones ahead of the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in LA.
‘We want state and local [government] to be able to mitigate [against] drones, just like they would be able to protect the grounds around stadiums,’ Giuliani says. ‘It’s such a fast and evolving landscape… [and] something that we that we wanted to move very fast on.’
Security will need to be ratcheted up another notch every time Trump turns up to a game.
Since returning to the Oval Office, the president has been at numerous big sporting events including the Super Bowl and Ryder Cup. He even joined in the celebrations last summer as Chelsea won the Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium and one of Giuliani’s roles has been ironing out the president’s schedule.
‘We expect him to be at the final,’ Giuliani says. ‘I’ve got to have a direct conversation with him, finalizing where he wants to be.’ As president, Trump can only really pencil plans into his calendar, but he rarely misses a good PR opportunity.
‘I have probably spoken with him since I took the job a couple dozen times on this,’ Giuliani says. ‘And he understands that this is the largest platform that that the US will have to be able to show off American exceptionalism over our 250th birthday.’
But the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner, when a gunman allegedly tried to assassinate the president, was – Giuliani said at the time – a ‘sobering reminder’ of the threats facing America.
It’s a lot of responsibility for a former golfer. As a youngster, Giuliani once played with Tiger Woods. He was later kicked off the Duke University golf team. His alleged indiscretions included throwing an apple in a teammate’s face. He sued the school but the case was dismissed.
Giuliani failed to reach the PGA Tour and last year Trump had no problem pointing out why
Giuliani failed to reach the PGA Tour and last year Trump had no problem pointing out why. ‘He was playing with Rory [McIlroy] and he called me over to the table afterwards and said: “Andrew, after playing nine holes with Rory, I can tell you that he’s better than you.”‘
Giuliani continues: ‘And, by the way, Rory McIlroy won the Masters a few short months later. So the confidence that Rory McIlroy got probably helped him.’
By the time McIlroy won a second successive green jacket, Giuliani was back in the White House. In Trump’s first term, he served as Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison before being promoted to Special Assistant to the President.
Giuliani then failed in a bid to be New York governor in 2022 before rejoining Team Trump. This summer, his record with the Task Force will be put to the test. What seems clear? No one working on this World Cup has a cushy job. Particularly when it coincides with personal turmoil.
Rudy Giuliani was recently rushed to the hospital with pneumonia. The 81-year-old spent time in the ICU and was reportedly read the last rites. Then Giuliani’s health began to turn. So who knows? Maybe father and son could soon head out to watch another World Cup game together.
