US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP COULD MAKE MAJOR CHANGES TO 2026 WORLD CUP

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

TRUMP ANNOUNCES WASHINGTON D.C. TO HOST 2027 NFL DRAFT

Reuters 

WASHINGTON - The National Football League will host its 2027 draft in Washington, D.C., U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday at the White House, bringing the league's biggest off-season event to the nation's capital for the first time since 1940.

The three-day event that regularly attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors is expected to take place on the National Mall, a stone's throw from the White House

"The draft is a celebration of one of our country's most cherished cultural institutions," said Trump, speaking from inside the Oval Office.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters he expects more than one million visitors at the 2027 draft, far more than the estimated record 775,000 who attended the 2024 edition in Detroit.

The announcement comes days after the Washington Commanders struck a deal with the District of Columbia to return to the site of the club's former RFK Stadium, where Washington played from 1961-1996 and enjoyed the most successful era in franchise history.

The new stadium is expected to open in the nation's capital in 2030.

Commanders owner Josh Harris, who agreed to buy the team in 2023 after a turbulent period under previous owners Dan and Tanya Snyder, was in attendance to present the U.S. president with a team jersey with "Trump" emblazoned on the back.

"You are the ultimate commander, so it is a Commanders jersey," said Harris.

The draft has rotated through multiple cities since the NFL ended New York's five-decade-long reign as host in 2015. The three-day 2025 draft was held last month at Lambeau Field, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers, with next year's selection of college players joining the NFL to be held in Pittsburgh.

Reuters 

Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl in February, where the crowd at the Superdome in New Orleans greeted him with a mix of cheers and boos, but he has a long and complicated history with the league.

Trump bought into the doomed upstart United States Football League in the 1980s and sought to have it compete directly with the NFL.

In 2017, during his first term in the White House, he spent weeks attacking the NFL over players who knelt during the pre-game playing of the national anthem in protest over police brutality and racial inequality.

Goodell, who stood next to Trump as the president addressed the media, in February had defied Trump's calls for private companies to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying the league would continue its DEI efforts.

Trump's current term will overlap with several major international sporting events in the United States, with the Club World Cup set to take place in 11 U.S. cities from June 14-July 13.

The United States will co-host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada, while the 2028 Summer Olympics are set for Los Angeles.

Reporting by Gram Slattery in Washington, D.C., writing by Amy Tennery in New York, Editing by Bill Berkrot

- Reuters