United States President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to move 2026 World Cup matches from cities with Democratic mayors and crime problems during a news conference in conjunction with an Oval Office meeting of the White House's FIFA Task Force on Monday, November 17.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also did not completely rule out the possibility after a reporter asked Trump about Seattle's new Democratic Socialist mayor-elect Katie Wilson, and whether her agenda and pre-existing crime issues there, could affect the city hosting six World Cup games at Lumen Field next year.
It prompted Trump to again suggest World Cup matches at United States venues could be changed if the administration is concerned about safety at the game site. He previously said he had the authority to move World Cup games from Boston last month.
“If we think there’s going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask (Infantino) to move that to a different city," Trump said.
"I don’t think we will have this problem, but we will move the event to some place it will be appreciated and safe," he added.
