FIFA shied away from a confrontation with President Donald Trump and told Field Level Media on Wednesday that the "government" will decide whether 2026 World Cup host cities are safe enough to remain hosts as scheduled.
FIFA was on the spot after Trump issued a veiled threat to move games from Boston -- Foxborough, Mass., site of Gillette Stadium -- if the city doesn't "clean up its act."
"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," a FIFA spokesperson said in a written reply requesting comment on the matter Wednesday. "We hope every one of our 16 Host Cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements."
Earlier in the day, Boston mayor Michelle Wu implied the city was ready for a faceoff with Trump over his claim he could order FIFA to remove World Cup games scheduled to be played in the region.
Wu appeared on "Java with Jimmy" on Wednesday to respond to Tuesday's criticism from the White House, which labeled the Democrat as "radical left" and said he would make a call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino if Boston doesn't "clean up its act."
"Much of it is locked down by contract so that no single person, even if they live in the White House currently, can undo it," Wu said. "We're in a world where for drama, for control, for pushing the boundaries ... ongoing threats ... are issued to individuals and communities who refuse to back down and comply or be obedient to a hateful agenda."
"We are going to continue to be who we are and that means, unfortunately, we are going to be in a conversation in a way that is targeting Boston's values. Ten toes down for Boston."
The United States is scheduled to host 78 of 104 matches in the 2026 World Cup, expanded to 48 teams for the first time. FIFA had no comment on any of the cities or stadiums mentioned by Trump.
Infantino was a guest of Trump at a press conference in Egypt announcing the accord between Israel and Gaza earlier this week and is a known ally.
On Tuesday, Trump was asked about violence in South Boston that included a police vehicle being set ablaze and 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 would do it very easily."
The United States, Mexico and Canada are joint North American hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Trump made previous comments suggesting he would take up the same conversation with Infantino about moving games from Seattle and San Francisco, which are among the 16 total host cities for the event scheduled to be played from June 11 to July 19 next summer.
--Field Level Media
