Trump Says Unsafe US Cities Could Lose Slots to Host 2026 World Cup Matches
US President Donald Trump has warned that he will move matches away from any 2026 World Cup host city he considers unsafe, raising questions about the stability of the tournament’s organisation.
The United States is set to stage the majority of next summer’s expanded 48-team competition, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico. Of the 104 matches scheduled, 78 will take place in American venues, including the final. Eleven US cities — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle — are slated to host fixtures.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump stressed that security would be his top priority. “It will be safe for the World Cup. If I think it isn’t safe, we’ll move it into a different city,” he said.
The president was asked specifically about Democratic-run cities such as Seattle and San Francisco, both scheduled to host six games, and Los Angeles, which is set to stage eight matches and later the 2028 Olympics. “If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, but for the World Cup in particular, because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it to go. We’ll move it around a little bit,” Trump said.
While FIFA, world football’s governing body, has full authority over the tournament and the final selection of host cities, Trump’s remarks highlight potential tensions. Any late changes would pose serious logistical hurdles, given the scale of the competition and the preparations already underway. It is also unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to enforce such changes, though he maintains close ties with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and serves as chair of the World Cup taskforce.
The comments come as Trump doubles down on his tough-on-crime agenda. In recent months, he has deployed National Guard troops and federal officers into Washington DC despite falling crime rates since a 2023 spike. He has also announced plans to send forces into Memphis and Chicago, while in June he ordered 2,000 Guardsmen to Los Angeles to quell unrest linked to raids on undocumented migrants.
The World Cup draw is scheduled for 5 December in Washington DC, with the tournament itself running from 11 June to 19 July 2026.
This is not the first time Trump has waded into World Cup discussions. In May, he controversially suggested that allowing Russia to play could serve as an “incentive” to end the war in Ukraine, despite the country’s ongoing ban from international football. Earlier this year, he also claimed that political and economic friction between the US and co-hosts Canada and Mexico would make the tournament “even better.”
With less than a year to go before kickoff, Trump’s comments inject fresh uncertainty into preparations for the biggest World Cup in history.