The former president Threatens Relocation of FIFA World Cup Matches from Massachusetts, Olympics from Los Angeles

Ex-president Trump has yet again declared he would urge FIFA to relocate 2026 World Cup games from a designated city based on that city's governance, with the Boston region becoming the latest urban area to receive such warnings from the White House. Moreover, Trump indicated he would evaluate similar action against LA for the upcoming Olympic Games due to potential security concerns.

Legal Authority and Possible Pressure

While Trump holds no formal power to personally cancel either event, he is able to apply pressure the respective governing bodies in charge of each competition to change host cities.

Context of Remarks

The comments were made during a press event with Argentina's leader Milei, who was visiting the presidential residence following the revelation of a $20 billion bailout for the South American economy. Toward the close of the gathering, a journalist asked Trump about a recent “street takeover” in Boston where authorities were assaulted and a patrol car was ignited. The correspondent also questioned if these incidents could cause the removal of tournament responsibilities for the larger football competition.

“We could take them away,” he said about the soccer fixtures, scheduled to be held at the Massachusetts arena. “The city's leader is ineffective … she’s far-left, and they are dominating areas of downtown. It's a major assertion, don't you think?”

Public Gatherings and Ideological Perceptions

Street takeovers, a social media-driven trend where groups of people gather on city streets after dark to engage in dangerous driving, have emerged as a frequent problem in American cities since the coronavirus closures. Current such gatherings have escalated into violence in the region, including Boston. Yet, these occurrences are typically not considered tied to any specific partisan agenda.

“When a city is failing, and I believe exist dangerous circumstances, I would call the FIFA head, who is phenomenal, and suggest let’s move it to another location,” Trump said publicly. “He'd do that. He might not prefer to do it, but he would comply. Readily, he would.”

Organizational Alignment

Gianni Infantino has been open his efforts to be publicly aligned with the US leader before the upcoming World Cup, set to be staged in numerous American venues across the US along with several in Canada and a few in the southern neighbor. The head has participated at various presidential functions, facilitated Trump hand over the Club World Cup award after the concluding game, and has even rescheduled his FIFA's internal meeting to travel with Trump on a trip to the Arab region earlier in 2025.

Earlier Warnings

This has not stopped, Trump from suggesting the removal of soccer matches from different locations. In late September, the Washington city and San Francisco were similar comments, with Trump claiming both cities were “led by far-left extremists who don’t know what they are doing,” while challenging the public safety of both locales and implying that games could be removed.

Official Rebuttal

The organization's deputy Montagliani rebuffed Trump’s assertions when he responded subsequently at a gathering in England.

“It’s FIFA’s tournament, our responsibility, FIFA makes such choices,” he stated. “Politely to sitting presidents, the sport is more important than them and football will outlast their tenure and their government. It's the essence of football, that it is bigger than one leader and beyond individual states.”

2028 Comments

On Tuesday, Trump’s reply to a inquiry about Boston included a parallel statement regarding the upcoming Summer Games.

“If I thought Los Angeles was not going to be prepared properly, I will relocate it to an alternate venue if necessary,” he said. “Regarding that event I may have to obtain a different kind of consent, but we'd take that action.”

Official consent Trump alluded to would need to come through the IOC. Their leader, she, was chosen to her role in spring and has yet to hold a public appearance with him, but she indicated that she would like a discussion with him at some point.

Further Comments

The former president also criticized California governor Newsom’s response of recent California fires, remarking that a comparable scenario could lead to the removal of the event.

“When Newsom doesn’t play ball, we are going to have to be firm,” Trump commented.

His statement was similarly clear for the Massachusetts city.

“The city should clean up their act,” he remarked. “That is I will say.”