US President Donald Trump sparked chaos in the Oval Office as he made a public announcement about the 2026 World Cup alongside a 'scrambling' FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.
We are just six months away from the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, a tournament that will take place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
In total, the first-ever expanded 48-team tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities, including Dallas, Miami, Atlanta and Kansas City, although Donald Trump has thrown a curveball into the mix of late.
The US president has warned host cities under Democratic control, including Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle, that he will call upon Infantino to switch venues if he deems there is a “problem” with security.
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In fact, Trump was asked about the new mayor-elect of Seattle, Katie Wilson, who is a democratic socialist, at an extraordinary conference alongside Infantino on Monday.
Here, Trump suggested that World Cup games set to be hosted in Seattle could be moved elsewhere if crime and safety become an issue.
“If we think there’s going to be a sign of any trouble, I would ask Gianni (Infantino) to move that (games) to a different city,” Trump said after being asked about Wilson.
“If we think there’s a problem in Seattle, where we have a very, very liberal-slash-communist mayor, certainly beyond just liberal.... I watched her over the weekend... wow, that’s another beauty we got there.
"But if we think there’s gonna be another problem, we’re gonna move this event to another place where it’s going to be appreciated and safe.”
Infantino was left 'scrambling' by the sudden turn in questioning, according to News Au, but the FIFA president agreed that World Cup matches could still be moved on safety grounds at Trump’s request.
“Safety and security are the No. 1 priority for a successful World Cup,” Infantino said in response.
“We can see today that people have trust in the United States and we see the ticket sales, tickets sold, are record-breaking. Almost two million sold already out of two million ... because people, they know, they will be coming here and they will experience a safe and secure World Cup.
“It’s of course the responsibility of the government ... and obviously we will, we will discuss, we are working together."
He added: "We have a Task Force for this and we must ensure that all fans coming from abroad here can experience a celebration of coming together, of the sport, and this goes on with 100 per cent safety.”
Of course, if Trump did drop a host city from the tournament at this stage, it would prove a costly decision for fans and teams who have already made plans regarding travel and accommodation.
Topics: FIFA, Gianni Infantino, FIFA World Cup, Donald Trump, United States
Jack Kenmare