Donald Trump teases huge 2026 World Cup change amid 'safety' concerns

Martin Macdonald

• 26 Sep 2025 06:00 CDT
• 3 min read

News

United States president Donald Trump has announced that he is in favour of simply 'moving' next year's World Cup games if any host cities are deemed 'unsafe.'

The 2026 edition of football's biggest event is set to take place across Canada, Mexico and the United States, with 78 of the 104 fixtures slated to be played stateside.

48 teams will compete at next year's World Cup, although there is already talk of a further increase to as many as 64 teams for future tournaments. A summit was recently held at Trump Tower to discuss the potential expansion.

It was a fitting location as US president Donald Trump and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino have a close working relationship, with the former fully involved in the promotion of the upcoming World Cup.

Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle will host games next year, but Trump has now suggested that he could 'move' games if any of the host cities are deemed 'unsafe' amid growing political tension.

Trump: 'It will be safe for the World Cup'

Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said: "It will be safe for the World Cup. If I think it isn't safe, we'll move it into a different city." He also added that he could take the same measures for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

"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."

These comments have given rise to questions about whether the US president has the authority to even make such a massive change, considering that the ability to host World Cup games is a huge source of pride - and a logistical challenge - for cities.

Preparing for the World Cup takes months of planning. Moving host cities on a whim would likely create more problems than it would solve. Indeed, the granting of host city status has become an event in and of itself, so FIFA would surely be reluctant to agree to last-minute changes.

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