United States President Donald Trump may have no legal backing behind his threats of taking the FIFA World Cup away from various cities, but he has the blessing of his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino.
The 2026 World Cup is less than year away and excitement for the tournament is building across the globe.
Forty-eight teams will compete at the newly-expanded international tournament, with three separate countries hosting the competition for the first time. Canada and Mexico will help stage next summer’s World Cup, but the bulk of matches will be played in the United States.
Eleven stadiums in 11 different cities will host matches across the U.S., but President Trump has recently threatened to move matches within America ahead of the tournament—something that will have a drastic impact on the competition if talk turns to action.
Why Is Donald Trump Threatening to Move World Cup Matches?
Trump has threatened to remove cities as World Cup hosts due to supposed “safety issues” following recent demonstrations against his approach to tackling immigration and crime, as well as on the basis of the city’s political leadership. However, the President didn’t organically put forward the idea of relocating matches, with the notion initially suggested to him by a reporter during an Oval Office event.
Asked on Sept. 25 about whether matches could be moved due to demonstrations, Trump replied: “I guess, but we’re going to make sure they’re safe. They’re run by radical left lunatics and that don’t know what they’re doing.”
He later added: “If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, [then] we won’t allow it to go to it. We’ll move it around a little bit.”
On Oct. 14, Trump was quizzed about the possibility of revoking Boston’s status as a host city following a “street takeover” that turned violent. He reiterated the possibility of moving matches and heavily criticized the Democratic mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu.
“We could take them [matches] away [from Boston],” Trump said. “Their mayor is not good. She’s radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston. That’s a pretty big statement, right?”
More recently, Trump was asked about moving matches in relation to the newly elected Democratic mayor of Seattle, Katie Wilson.
“If we think there’s going to be the sign of any trouble, I would ask [FIFA President] Gianni [Infantino] to move that to a different city,” remarked Trump. “So, if we think there’s a problem in Seattle where you have a very, very Liberal/communist mayor, we’ll say, ’Gianni, can I say we will move?’ I don’t think you’re gonna have this problem. But we’re gonna move the event to someplace where it’s going to be appreciated and safe.”
Trump has even opened up the possibility of moving the 2028 Summer Olympics, which are set to be hosted in Los Angeles.
Could Donald Trump Move World Cup Matches?
Trump has no power to unilaterally relocate matches at the World Cup. That’s because agreements have been arranged and signed directly between FIFA and the local municipalities of host cities, with Trump having no jurisdiction to cancel or amend those deals.
However, FIFA do have the power to move fixtures. Host cities are required to ensure they meet appropriate safety and security measures, with soccer’s governing body able to step in should they believe those standards have not been adhered to.
Speaking alongside Trump after his remarks about the Seattle mayor, FIFA President Infantino admitted that moving matches remains a possibility. “Yeah, I think safety and security is the number one priority for a successful World Cup.”
Infantino added: “We are working together, we have a task force for this and we must ensure that all fans coming from abroad, being here they can experience a celebration of coming together of the sport and this goes only with 100% safety.”
FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani, Infantino’s second in command, has previously rebuffed suggestions that World Cup matches could be moved, however.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” said Montagliani. “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. That’s the beauty of our game, that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.”
Trump, of course, could also apply political pressure to decision-makers in host cities in an attempt to follow through on his threats, but moving fixtures will cause immense chaos. The financial impact and organizational difficulties involved means it would be incredibly challenging to shift venues, but it remains a possibility.
World Cup Host Cities in the United States
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Can President Trump Actually Move 2026 World Cup Games?.
