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U.S. President Donald Trump was reminded connected Wednesday (October 1, 2025) that FIFA, not immoderate government, yet decides which cities volition big 2026 World Cup games.
Mr. Trump suggested past week helium could state cities “not safe” for the 104-game shot tourney adjacent summertime and change a elaborate hosting program that FIFA confirmed successful 2022. It includes NFL stadiums adjacent New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The 11 U.S. big cities, positive 3 successful Mexico and 2 successful Canada, are contracted with FIFA which would look important logistical and ineligible issues to marque changes successful the 8 months earlier the June 11 kickoff.
“It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the shot body's vice president Victor Montagliani said connected Wednesday astatine a sports concern league successful London.
The Canadian president of North American determination shot assemblage CONCACAF said the athletics is “bigger” than immoderate existent governmental debate.
“With each owed respect to existent satellite leaders, shot is bigger than them and shot volition past their authorities and their authorities and their slogans,” Mr. Montagliani said successful an on-stage interview. “That's the quality of our game, is that it is bigger than immoderate idiosyncratic and bigger than immoderate country.” Mr. Trump's comments past week were successful effect to a question astir World Cup cities that reason his migration and transgression crackdowns.
“If I deliberation it's not safe, we're going to determination it out,” the U.S. president said successful the Oval Office.
Any metropolis that “is going to beryllium adjacent a small spot unsafe for the World Cup,” Mr. Trump said, besides referring to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, “we'll determination it astir a small bit. But I anticipation that's not going to happen.” The World Cup and Olympic Games bash trust connected big federation governments astatine each levels for hundreds of millions of dollars worthy of commitments connected security, visa processing and instrumentality enforcement. The past 4 hosts of the men's World Cup were Qatar, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.
Mr. Trump has a adjacent moving narration with FIFA president Gianni Infantino who is simply a regular visitant to the White House. Infantino has not publically commented connected the contented of cities being judged excessively unsafe to big games astatine the 48-team tourney that runs done July 19.
