The United States men’s national football team’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign has received an unusual boost from NASA. The space agency has announced that it will send a football to the Moon if Team USA lifts the World Cup trophy, according to Phys.org.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman made the pledge on Tuesday while outlining the agency’s plans for a future lunar base. “That’s the challenge, okay, so Team USA, get the job done,” Isaacman said. “We’re going to get the soccer ball there. So, a little bit of motivation for the United States here on this one.”
The United States is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada. Team USA progressed to the Round of 32 after finishing as Group D winners and is scheduled to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara, California.
The US men’s national team has never won the FIFA World Cup, while the women’s team has won the tournament a record four times. Isaacman’s announcement adds a symbolic incentive to the men’s bid for a historic first title.
How NASA Plans to Make It Happen
If the United States wins the World Cup, the football will be included on a future lunar mission carrying scientific instruments as part of NASA’s Moon base programme.
Carlos Garcia-Galan, NASA’s programme manager for the Moon base, said the football’s lightweight design makes it feasible to transport.
“If the United States wins the World Cup, we will absolutely find space,” Garcia-Galan said. Referring to the team’s road to the title, he added, “It’s all on the US men’s national team, so good luck.”
The proposal also pays tribute to Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard, who famously carried a golf club and two golf balls to the Moon in 1971 before taking several swings on the lunar surface.
“We’re going to one-up Alan Shepard,” Isaacman said.
NASA has previously celebrated football’s biggest tournament by sending a FIFA football to the International Space Station, where astronauts have also watched FIFA World Cup matches while in orbit.
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