United States president Donald Trump has threatened to move the 2026 FIFA World Cup fixtures from Boston, according to the Telegraph.
Trump has also indicated that Los Angeles could be stripped of the 2028 Olympic Games over reports that parts of both cities have been ‘taken over’ by unrest.
The US is one of three nations set to host the inaugural 48-team World Cup next year alongside neighbouring countries Canada and Mexico.
Foxborough, Massachusetts – located about 30 miles from Boston and home to the National Football League (NFL) outfit New England Patriots – is one of the confirmed venues for the 2026 World Cup.
However, during a recent press briefing, Trump suggested that Boston’s place as a host city could be in jeopardy.
Asked about Boston’s Democratic mayor, Michelle Wu, Trump described her as ‘intelligent’ but ‘radical left.’.
“We could take them [World Cup fixtures] away,” Trump said. I love the people of Boston, and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.”
He added that ‘they’re taking over parts of Boston’, without offering any further details.
Mayor Wu’s office didn’t respond directly to the president’s comments.
However, they released a statement saying that ‘Boston is honoured and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city’.
Trump also said his friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino could make it possible to move matches.
“If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni – the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal – and I would say, ‘let’s move into another location’ and they would do that,” he added.
However, Trump has no say in which cities get to host the World Cup. The 11 US cities selected to host the tournament, plus three in Mexico and two in Canada, signed contracts with FIFA.
Those contracts would make any relocation legally and logistically challenging, especially with the World Cup just eight months away.
Numerous nations have already qualified for the groundbreaking tournament, but the qualification process is still ongoing.
