BOSTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston, after suggesting that parts of the city had been “taken over” by unrest.
Foxborough, Massachusetts, home to the NFL’s New England Patriots and about 30 miles from Boston, is set to stage matches as the U.S. cohosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Trump was asked about Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, a Democrat whom he called “intelligent” but “radical left.”
“We could take them away,” Trump said of the World Cup games. “I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.”
Can Trump take away the World Cup games?
Trump has previously suggested he could declare cities “not safe” for the 104-game soccer tournament and alter a detailed hosting plan that FIFA confirmed in 2022. It includes games at NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
World Cup host sites aren’t up to Trump. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body’s vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.
Trump nonetheless 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.”
The president meant FIFA head Gianni Infantino, a close ally.
World Cup in Massachusetts
Among the seven matches that will be played at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough will be five group stage matches, one match in the round of 32 and a quarterfinal match on July 9, 2026. The tournament is expected to bring $1.1 billion in local economic impact, create over 5,000 jobs, and generate more than $60 million of tax revenue throughout the region.
Trump takes aim at Boston
Boston and its mayor have been frequent targets of the Trump administration for much of the year. The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis.
In September, the Trump administration sued the city, arguing its sanctuary city policies are illegal under federal law and the city’s refusal to cooperate with immigration authorities has resulted in the release of dangerous criminals who should be deported.
