Trump says FIFA chief would back moving World Cup games for security reasons

Published
0
US President Donald Trump looks at the golden glove trophy next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after Chelsea beat Paris St Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US on July 13, 2025. — Reuters/File
US President Donald Trump looks at the golden glove trophy next to FIFA president Gianni Infantino after Chelsea beat Paris St Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup final, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, US on July 13, 2025. — Reuters/File

United States President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that FIFA chief Gianni Infantino would support moving 2026 World Cup games from US cities for security reasons if necessary.

In September, Trump raised the possibility of moving games amid his crackdown on Democratic-run cities, but at the time FIFA said that it was up to football’s governing body to decide where games are held.

“If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location. And he would do that,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if games could be moved from Boston, one of the host cities.

“Very easily he would do it.”

Trump’s comments came a day after he met close friend Infantino in Egypt at a summit on a Gaza ceasefire, where the FIFA boss joined more than two dozen world leaders who were discussing peace in the Middle East.

The US president also suggested that, if necessary, events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could also be moved.

“I could say the same thing for the Olympics,” Trump said.

“If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location.”

Republican Trump’s administration has deployed national guard troops to Democratic-run US cities this year over the objections of local and state leaders, saying they are needed to counter crime and left-wing activism.

Boston is hosting seven games at next year’s World Cup. San Francisco and Seattle are both hosting six matches each at the tournament, while Los Angeles is hosting eight.

The United States is co-hosting next year’s World Cup with Mexico and Canada, but will be hosting the bulk of the games in the tournament, which has been expanded to include 48 teams.

Trump earlier this year appointed himself as chairman of a White House task force for the World Cup.

Opinion

Editorial

Risks ahead
Updated 02 Oct, 2026

Risks ahead

To think that the government would rather push out an elected government than grant a single prisoner some facilities does not square up rationally.
Exit from Iraq
02 Oct, 2026

Exit from Iraq

AMERICAN and British troops have once again shipped out of Iraq. On Wednesday, the foreign forces left the Arab...
Lahore’s ozone warning
02 Oct, 2026

Lahore’s ozone warning

LAHORE has received another warning that its air pollution crisis cannot be treated as a problem that begins with...
Fixing bond markets
Updated 01 Oct, 2026

Fixing bond markets

Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, retail investors, and eventually, foreign investors must become bigger participants in the market.
Call centre rackets
01 Oct, 2026

Call centre rackets

A NUMBER of recent raids conducted by the authorities in different cities point to the growing threat fraudulent ...
Homeward bound
01 Oct, 2026

Homeward bound

FIVE months after Somali pirates captured an oil tanker carrying a 19-member multinational crew, Somali maritime...