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The 2026 World Cup is shaping up to be a critical moment in modern international relations, with the world reaching out to North America at a time when global peace appears delicate.
A handful of players and activists are stepping forward to help promote peace through sport. Team USA and San Jose Earthquakes defender DeJuan Jones and DC United forward Dominique Badji lent their platforms to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for a seminar on how soccer can help foster positive relationships between fans of competing countries.
But with the World Cup coming to the United States for the first time since 1994, a point of debate amid those international relations is whether the United States should follow the rest of the world’s lead in calling the sport soccer.
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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 applaud as penalty kicks are taken during a match between Canada and USMNT at TQL Stadium on July 9, 2023 in Cincinatti, Ohio. (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump even said he believes the United States is renaming soccer after soccer, while at Sunday’s World Cup draw he renamed American soccer to another name.
Both Jones and Badji agree with Trump, but don’t think a complete name change is feasible.
“I think it makes more sense for soccer to be called American football; however, we have the NFL, so I think it would be very difficult to change the name of the NFL,” Jones told Pak Gazette Digital. “So I think we’ll always call it football and, you know, people might laugh at us for it, but we can have that as what we call sport.”
Badji, who was born in the African nation of Senegal, believes that changing the name of the sport to soccer would symbolically help the United States catch up with the rest of the world competitively in the sport. But he is also aware of the cultural dominance of American football.
“By calling it soccer here, you’re competing with the biggest sport in the country… I think it should be soccer, because that’s what the rest of the world calls it,” Badji told Pak Gazette Digital.
“When you talk about American soccer, you’re trying to catch up with the rest of the world, and it’s just a small barrier in soccer, but ultimately I think it should be called soccer. But it’s a losing battle, you’re not going to be able to change American soccer to another name.”
One thing that both Jones and Badji believe can be addressed in the United States when the World Cup begins is the behavior of fans during games.
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In 2025 alone, football matches around the world have been the scene of violent fan behavior.
This month, at a match for French club OGC France, players and staff were assaulted, spat at and punched by their own fans after a defeat and a man in the UK was accused of racially abusing Bournemouth player Antoine Semenyo during a Premier League match against Liverpool.
“The most important thing is the behavior of the fans,” Jones said. “It is important for adults to show appropriate behavior for children who are becoming adults.”
Jones added of the upcoming World Cup: “There will be a lot of people from a lot of different cultures, so I’m sure there will be some clashes, but I think it will also be a great opportunity to celebrate each other’s differences and learn about each other’s cultures.
“Safety is going to be important and you have to make sure it’s a safe environment for everyone and everyone can enjoy the games and get home safe.”
Badji said he is disappointed with the behavior of fans at MLS games “all the time.”
“People tease you, people call you names, unfortunately I’ve had racial slurs thrown at me. I’ve heard other insults thrown at other people, so it’s unfortunate,” he said.
Badji said that one of his biggest hopes and goals for the next World Cup is to “get rid of some of the ignorance that comes from not knowing the cultures of different countries,” and that
“Football will bring people together who may not speak the same language,” Badji, later adding: “Politics is so involved in football that sometimes it influences the way people perceive other people, other teams, other countries.”
It’s a topic Badji and Jones discussed at the panel, “Three Nations, One Game: North America’s Role in Shaping Global Sportsmanship,” at the Ronald Reagan Institute’s Center on Civility and Democracy (CCD) in downtown Washington, DC, on December 2. They delivered their speeches alongside Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House 2026 FIFA World Cup Task Force.
CCD director Fred Ryan told Pak Gazette Digital that he believes even more than the fans, the players are responsible for showing respect on the field to promote a peaceful environment.
“There have been some disappointing things from time to time, there is an athlete on the field who shows no respect for his opponent, the rules of the game or the referee,” Ryan said. “On the field we want to applaud good sportsmanship, we want to applaud people who respect their opponents… and people who respect the rules of the game.”
For Jones, one of his ways to maintain respect and promote unity as a player on the field is to channel his devotion to Jesus Christ.
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DeJuan Jones #15 of the United States before the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal match against Panama at Snapdragon Stadium on July 12, 2023 in San Diego, California. Panama won the match on penalties after a 1-1 draw. (Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
“I believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and every day, honestly, when I read my Bible and I pray and definitely before I go on the field, I just ask the Lord to protect me and guide me when I’m out there,” Jones said.
“One of the most important things that Jesus teaches is just to love your neighbor as yourself… I think a lot of times in society, people worry about themselves and whatever is going to get them through, but if we all had a little more empathy and looked at our neighbors and saw what we can do to help instead of always getting something and receiving… I think that would go a long way toward making the world more peaceful.”
