This week, Donald Trump threatened to shift matches for the 2026 men’s World Cup away from what he called “left-wing lunatic” cities. Speaking from the Oval Office, the US president first promised that football’s championship event would be “very secure,” but then hinted that he may intervene if cities did not cooperate with his government.
It’s been a volatile week in American politics and football. The 79-year-old also downplayed the possibility of Israel being barred from next summer’s event, stating that the United States would oppose any UEFA or FIFA move to exclude the Middle Eastern country. This comes as international pressure mounts for penalties against Israel, similar to those imposed on Russia following the Gaza battle, which was declared genocide.
With just over nine months until the World Cup begins, it’s evident that Trump is leveraging the US hosting rights to push his political agenda. While changing which cities host matches at this point appears unlikely, it has not been completely ruled out.
Trump threatens to change host cities for the 2026 World Cup.
He went on to say, “If I think it’s not safe, we’ll take it out of the city. So if we believe that any place will be even slightly unsafe for the World Cup or the [2028] Olympics, you know where they have Olympic overthrow, but for the World Cup in especially, since they’ll be playing in so many towns, we will not allow it. “We’ll move it around a little.”
Trump lacks the explicit authority to relocate World Cup games from any city. He does, however, have a direct route to FIFA’s president and “great friend,” Gianni Infantino.
FIFA’s contracts with host cities, some of which were obtained through public records requests, state that FIFA “shall not have the right for ordinary termination” of the agreements, but they generally grant the organisation broad powers and legal protection if it terminates or violates the contracts.
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