Pro soccer players open up on spreading peace through the sport at World Cup — and which sport is 'football'

Team USA soccer player DeJuan Jones and MLS player Dominique Badji spoke to Fox News Digital about the upcoming World Cup, their hope to spread world peace through their sport, and the debate over re-naming soccer to "football" in America.

The 2026 World Cup is shaping up to be a flash point moment in modern international relations, with the world coming to North America at a time when global peace appears delicate.

A handful of players and activists are stepping up to help promote peace through the sport. Team USA and San Jose Earthquakes defender DeJuan Jones and D.C. United forward Dominique Badji lent their platforms to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute for a seminar on how soccer can help promote positive relations between fans of competing countries. 

But with the World Cup coming to the U.S. for the first time since 1994, one point of debate amid those international relations is whether America should follow the rest of the world in calling the sport football. 

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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 cheer as penalty kicks are being held during a game 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 thinks America giving the name football to soccer, while renaming American football something else at the World Cup draw on Sunday.

Both Jones and Badji agree with Trump, but they don't think a complete name change is feasible. 

"I think that makes the most sense, for soccer to be called