Believe it or not, long before he took to the campaign trail, Donald Trump briefly took to the soccer pitch.
Donald Trump returned to office as the 47th President of the United States following his 2024 election victory.
Since being elected, Trump has tried to elevate soccer’s profile across the US by backing the successful 2026 FIFA World Cup bid and establishing the White House World Cup Task Force.
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However, he certainly doesn’t help himself, with a call to Gianni Infantino to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card for the USMNT, leading to everyone turning against him.
But this isn’t Trump’s first rodeo when it comes to soccer, as he himself played during high school, plus his son, Barron Trump, is an avid soccer fan who played as a midfielder for D.C. United’s youth academy.
Donald Trump’s history as a high school soccer player
Long before he entered politics, Donald Trump played high school soccer during his senior year at the New York Military Academy.
He joined the academy’s 1963 varsity squad, taking up a position as a tall, physical defender. His former classmates even praised his overall athleticism and claimed he possessed natural talent, but the myth of an outstanding soccer background does not quite match reality.
There were claims surrounding Donald Trump’s undefeated high school soccer season, specifically the legend that his team sailed through an 11-0 undefeated campaign, which originated from his NYMA classmate and friend, Peter Ticktin.
He stated: “The year we were on the team together, we were 11-0.” (Guardian).
However, archival research into 1963 school yearbooks and local newspaper match reports firmly puts that myth to bed. Trump was actually one of the few native American players on a roster largely made up of international students from South America, and his team finished with a modest 3-8 record.
And the US president only played a single season before leaving the sport behind.
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