"Trump suggested last week he could declare cities "not safe" for the 104-game soccer tournament next summer and alter a detailed hosting plan that FIFA confirmed in 2022. It includes NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The 11 U.S. host 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 Wednesday at a sports business conference in London. The Canadian president of North American regional soccer body Concacaf said the sport is "bigger" than any current political debate. "With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them and football will survive their regime and their government and their slogans," Montagliani said in an on-stage interview. "That's the beauty of our game, is that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.""
""If I think it's not safe, we're going to move it out," the U.S. president said in the Oval Office. Any city that "is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup," Trump said, also referring to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, "we'll move it around a little bit. But I hope that's not going to happen.""
FIFA retains final authority over selection and changes to 2026 World Cup host cities. The confirmed hosting plan includes 11 U.S. cities, three in Mexico and two in Canada, using NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Those cities are contracted with FIFA, creating significant logistical and legal obstacles to any alteration eight months before the June 11 kickoff. U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could declare certain cities "not safe" and move matches. Concacaf president Victor Montagliani emphasized that FIFA makes such decisions and said football is bigger than current political debates and individual leaders. Dependence on host governments for operational support remains, but FIFA's jurisdiction governs host selection and contracts.
Read at ESPN.com
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