Trump Floats Shifting World Cup Soccer Games Away From ‘Dangerous’ Cities
President Donald Trump has warned that matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be pulled from U.S. cities he deems “unsafe” as the nation prepares to host the soccer tournament with Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. will stage 78 of the 104 matches across 11 cities, from New York to Los Angeles.
“It will be safe for the World Cup,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. “If I think it isn’t safe, we’ll move it into a different city.”
He continued: “If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, but for the World Cup in particular, because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it to go. We’ll move it around a little bit.”
While it is the tournament’s governing body FIFA, and not the White House, which ultimately decides venue location, Trump, who chairs the U.S. World Cup taskforce, has cultivated close ties with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, which could give him some influential sway.
The remarks follow a summer of militarized crackdowns, including National Guard deployments to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
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