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| US President Donald Trump wears a 'Trump Was Right About Everything!' hat while holding the FIFA World Cup trophy, as he makes an announcement on the 2026 FIFA World Cup on August 22, 2025 [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters] |
Donald Trump has threatened to move matches for next summer’s 2026 men’s World Cup away from what he called “left-wing lunatic” cities this week. Speaking from the Oval Office, the US president first guaranteed that football's showpiece tournament would be “very secure,” but then suggested he might intervene if cities do not co-operate with his administration.
It’s been a turbulent week for US politics and football. The 79-year-old also downplayed any suggestion that Israel could be banned from next summer’s event, declaring that the USA would block any potential UEFA or FIFA decision to exclude the Middle Eastern nation. This comes as international pressure grows for sanctions against Israel, similar to those imposed on Russia after the Gaza conflict was deemed genocide.
With just over nine months until the World Cup kicks off, it’s clear Trump is using the US hosting rights to advance his political influence. While changing which cities host matches at this stage seems improbable, it has not been entirely ruled out.
Trump Threatens To Change Host Cities For 2026 World Cup
As per the Athletic, a reporter asked Trump what he would do if cities “did not cooperate” with the administration. “Well, that’s an interesting question,” said the president, who continued (watch the full segment below):
“We’re going to make sure they’re safe. They’re run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing. As you probably know, we’re going into Memphis and we’re going into some other cities. Very soon, we’re going into Chicago. It will be safe for the World Cup. If I think it isn’t safe, we’ll move into a different city, absolutely. It’s actually a very fair question."
He continued: “If I think it’s not safe, we’re going to move it out of that city. So if any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the [2028] Olympics, you know where they have Olympic overthrow right, but for the World Cup in particular, because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it. We’ll move it around a little bit."
Trump does not have explicit authority to move World Cup games out of any city. He does, however, have a direct line to FIFA president and his “great friend,” Gianni Infantino.
FIFA’s contracts with host cities - some obtained via public records requests - stipulate that FIFA “shall not have the right for ordinary termination” of the agreements, but generally grant the organisation broad powers and protection against legal claims if it were to terminate or violate the contracts.
- Robin Mumford
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