President Donald Trump has threatened to move World Cup games from cities that are not scheduled to host them next summer.
President Trump has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that the 11 cities and stadiums scheduled to host the 2026 World Cup could lose their rights to host the event if they are deemed too “dangerous.” FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani was quick to slam the 79-year-old’s bold declaration, insisting he did not have the authority to make such a decision.
Nevertheless, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, President Trump further doubled down on plans to move games from unsafe locations. “The answer is yes,” he began. “If I felt that someone was doing something wrong and there was a dangerous situation, I would call Gianni[Infantino]the incredible FIFA president, and say, ‘Let’s move it somewhere else.’
“And he will. He doesn’t want to do it, but he will. He will do it very easily. And now is the right time to do it.”
To make his point, Trump singled out Boston as a host city that could lose the game. But in reality, all seven games of the Massachusetts World Cup will be held at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
“If you think Boston is doing something that would cause a safety situation at the World Cup, you could say the same thing about the Olympics, because they have events in different locations,” Trump continued. “We’re based in Los Angeles. If we don’t think we can adequately prepare in Los Angeles, we’ll move to another location if necessary. We’ll probably have to get a different type of permit there, but that’s what we will do.”
This is not the first time President Trump has expressed a desire to move World Cup games and Olympic events from unsafe cities. Last month, the president criticized Democratic-led cities like Seattle and San Francisco, claiming they were “run by far-left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing.”
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“If there’s a city that we think is even remotely dangerous to the World Cup or the (2028) Olympics, we won’t allow that, especially with the World Cup, because so many cities are hosting it,” Trump said at the time. “I’m going to change things up a little bit. But I hope that doesn’t happen.”
Mr Trump has worked closely with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but Mr Montagliani insisted he still did not have the authority to change matches. “This is a FIFA tournament, it is FIFA’s jurisdiction and FIFA makes those decisions,” he said during London’s Leaders Week at Allianz Stadium.
According to Montagliani, soccer is “bigger” than the political divide across the country. “That’s the beauty of our game is that it’s bigger than any individual, bigger than any nation,” he said.
