FIFA has told Sky News the US government does have the right to determine if cities are safe for the World Cup – after Donald Trump threatened to remove the Boston area from hosting.
The US president stepped up his criticism of crime in Democrat-run cities at the White House after previously claiming California could be stripped of matches at the FIFA event next year, and at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is a close ally of President Trump’s – attending his Gaza peace summit in Egypt this week – and is not pushing back on his World Cup interventions.
In a statement to Sky News, FIFA said: “Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide.
“Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.
“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements.”
FIFA did not directly comment on changing any of the 11 venues in the US for the expanded 48-team men’s football World Cup which will see the Americans host 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the final in New Jersey.
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The remaining games are in Canada and Mexico.
Boston does not have matches itself, but the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots is being used by FIFA for seven matches, 30 miles away in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
President Trump said: “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 into another location,’ and they would do that.
“He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.”
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President Trump and Mr Infantino first encountered each other during Mr Trump’s first term in office, when the US was awarded the right to host next year’s tournament.
They have popped up together at summits and meetings across the world since.
The FIFA president was even among those in attendance as Mr Trump and world leaders signed the recent Israel-Gaza peace deal.
Earlier this week, President Trump slammed Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, and said the “radical left” was taking over Boston.
He made the comments while hosting Argentine president Javier Milei.
The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis in what he said was a bid to clean up crime.
