With around eight months to go before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has made threats to withdraw tournament matches scheduled for cities that are governed by Democratic politicians, from the party opposing the president.
Seattle, Boston and San Francisco, in which both the city hall and the government of the respective states are controlled by Democrats, were recently identified by the Republican as places that could have World Cup matches removed.
Trump cited security issues when raising the possibility, amid resistance from Democrats to adhere to the anti-immigration policies promoted by the US government in recent months, of mass deportations.
The Lumen Field stadium in Seattle is expected to host four World Cup group stage matches, including the United States’ second game on June 19, as well as a round of 16 match and a quarter-final match.
Levi’s Stadium, in the San Francisco region, will host five group stage games and one round of 16 game, while Gillette Stadium, in Boston, will host seven matches, five of which will be in the group stage, one in the round of 16 and one in the quarterfinals.
Trump’s first statements that raised the possibility of changing some of the World Cup venues in the United States took place at the end of September, in an interview with journalists in the Oval Office of the White House, seat of the presidency.
The US president stated that he would consider moving some of the headquarters if he considered them to be “unsafe”.
“That’s an interesting question, but we’re going to make sure they’re safe. They’re run by radical left-wing lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter who had asked him what actions he could take if Seattle and San Francisco did not cooperate with the government’s security plans. “If I think it’s not safe, we’ll go to another city,” added the politician.
This Wednesday (15), Trump spoke again about the possibility of changing headquarters, this time focusing on Boston. The city has been hosting protests against the Republican government in recent weeks, with a new demonstration scheduled for this Saturday (18).
“I love the people of Boston. I know the tickets for the games are sold out, but their mayor is not good,” said the President of the United States, referring to Democrat Michelle Wu.
“If someone is doing a bad job and I feel the conditions are unsafe, I would call Gianni [Infantino]the head of FIFA, who is phenomenal, and would say, ‘Let’s move to another location,’ and he would do that,” Trump said.
“Much of this is guaranteed by contract, in a way that no person, even if they are currently in the White House, can undo it,” declared the mayor of Boston. “We live in a world where, for drama, control, or to test boundaries, continued threats are made to individuals and communities who refuse to back down and comply with an agenda of hate.”
Having gotten closer to the FIFA president in recent months, with a series of meetings to discuss the Club and National Team World Cup, the politician does not have the prerogative to decide on changing venues, but could use his influence with Infantino to promote a change in this direction.
The politician also did not rule out the possibility of trying to change the venue for the 2028 Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Los Angeles.
He criticized the way California governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, handled fires in the region at the beginning of the year.
“If I thought Los Angeles wasn’t adequately prepared, I would move it [as Olimpíadas] to another location,” Trump said.
FIFA, in turn, said this Wednesday that it expects the World Cup host cities to be ready to host the tournament’s planned 104 games in 2026.
“We hope that each of the 16 host cities is prepared to successfully host the events and to comply with all necessary conditions. Safety and security are, of course, the responsibility of governments, which decide what is in the interest of public safety,” the entity said in a statement.
Vice-president of FIFA and director responsible for Concacaf (Confederation of Football Associations of North, Central America and the Caribbean), Canadian Victor Montagliani had already expressed his opinion on the competence to change one of the World Cup venues.
“It’s a FIFA tournament and with FIFA jurisdiction, so the decision is ours. With all due respect to the current world leaders, but football is bigger than them,” said Montagliani. “That’s the beauty of our game. It’s bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.”
The World Cup will take place from June 11th to July 19th, in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The opening will be held at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, with the final scheduled for the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
As the Qualifiers progress, there are now 28 confirmed teams — out of a total of 48 in the expanded version of the tournament, which in 2026 will have 16 more participants than in the previous edition, in 2022, in Qatar.
There are still another 58 teams competing for the remaining 20 places (15 from Europe, three from North, Central America and the Caribbean and two from the international playoffs).
With international agencies
