Global soccer body FIFA issued a statement to multiple news outlets on Wednesday confirming the U.S. government has the ability to move 2026 World Cup matches amid recent comments from President Donald Trump regarding host city safety.
Question marks surrounding moving World Cup games—78 of 104 are slated to take place in the U.S. next year—have arisen as Trump has questioned the safety of cities including Boston and Chicago. FIFA, seemingly going against comments made by vice president Victor Montagliani, sided with the U.S. government and Trump in a new statement.
“Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide. Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety. We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements,” FIFA said to The Athletic among others.
Montagliani, also president of Concacaf, had previously said FIFA holds “jurisdiction” around moving games. “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,” he said.
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The U.S. president turned his attention to Boston and city mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday during a meeting with Argentinian President Javier Milei. “We can take them away. I love the people of Boston. And I know the games are sold out, but the mayor is not good,” Trump said.
“... If somebody’s doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni [Infantino], the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, 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. And this is the right time to do it.”
Mayor Wu responded to Trump’s remarks on “Java with Jimmy” this past Wednesday.
“Much of it is locked down by contract so that no single person, even if they live in the White House currently, can undo it,” Wu said. “We’re in a world where for drama, for control, for pushing the boundaries ... ongoing threats ... are issued to individuals and communities who refuse to back down and comply or be obedient to a hateful agenda.“
President Trump first cast doubt over World Cup host cities in September, saying, “It will be safe for the World Cup. If I think it isn’t safe, we’ll move it to a different city. Absolutely ... it’s actually a very fair question. If I think it’s not safe, we’re going to move it out of that city.”
It remains unclear how the U.S. government and/or FIFA would go about moving games, which cities would serve as secondary locations and more. The World Cup group stage draw is set to take place Friday, Dec. 5 at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as FIFA Sides With Trump Over Its Own Vice President on World Cup Host Cities.