President Donald Trump threatened to pull World Cup 2026 matches from liberal-led cities he deemed unsafe.
After previously insisting that President Donald Trump had no authority to move World Cup games, FIFA has changed its tune. The global soccer governing body now says it will defer to the U.S. government on which host cities are safe enough for the 2026 tournament.
“Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide,” FIFA said in a statement. “Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.”
President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino on stage during the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium.
(Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)
The reversal came after Trump suggested he could pressure FIFA president Gianni Infantino to move matches out of cities he considers unsafe. Speaking to reporters last week about recent “street takeovers” in Boston, Trump said he wouldn’t hesitate to intervene.
“If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal,” Trump said. “And I would say, ‘Let’s move it to another location.’ And he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it. Very easily, he’d do it.”
Initially, FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani pushed back, saying Trump couldn’t make that call.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” he said at a conference in London. “With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them, and football will survive their regime and their government and their slogans.”
But the tone has since shifted. FIFA reaffirmed its close ties to Trump this week, noting its newly opened office in Trump Tower and Infantino’s recent participation in peace talks alongside the president.
Trump has previously taken aim at liberal-led cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Boston, saying FIFA should relocate games if public safety becomes a concern.
“If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup or for the Olympics … we won’t allow it to go,” Trump said last month.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu responded to Trump’s remarks by rejecting the notion her city wouldn’t be ready: “Boston is honored and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city.”
The U.S. is slated to host the majority of 2026 World Cup matches across 11 cities, with games also being held in Mexico and Canada.
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