United States president Donald Trump is set to attend the World Cup final and take part in the trophy presentation, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Trump, 80, has not yet attended any match at the tournament, which kicked off on 11 June and is being staged across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The final is scheduled for 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Infantino, who has developed a close friendship with Trump, confirmed the arrangement in an interview with Fox. "We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course," he said. When asked whether the two would make the presentation jointly, Infantino replied: "Of course, we are together all the time."

A busy schedule and a flair for the dramatic

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House's World Cup task force, told The Telegraph that Trump enjoys keeping people in suspense and has stayed away from matches so far due to his demanding schedule.

The United States is hosting 78 of the tournament's 104 matches, with the remaining games split between Mexico and Canada.

Trump was present at a UFC event at the White House last week, and was recently booed during an appearance at Madison Square Garden, where he became the first sitting US president to attend the NBA Finals. He watched game three, which saw the New York Knicks fall 111-115 to the San Antonio Spurs — a defeat that did not prevent the Knicks from eventually claiming the championship.

A lingering memory from the Club World Cup

Trump's role in trophy ceremonies has drawn attention before. At last summer's FIFA Club World Cup final, also held at MetLife Stadium, he handed the trophy to Chelsea's Reece James — and then remained on the podium, seemingly reluctant to leave.

"They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay," James said, reflecting on the moment of apparent confusion.