FIFA: U.S. govt to determine 2026 World Cup city safety - ESPN

FIFA has acknowledged that the United States government has the final say on determining the safety of World Cup host cities.

The news comes after U.S. president Donald Trump said FIFA president Gianni Infantino would «very easily» move 2026 World Cup matches away from designated host cities if Trump asked him to.

Trump also indicated he would seek to move the 2028 Olympic Games away from Los Angeles if he felt the city was not safe.

The U.S. president has previously spoken about moving World Cup matches away from what he deemed «dangerous» cities, previously naming Seattle and San Francisco.

«Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide,» a FIFA spokesperson said. «Safety and security are obviously the governments' responsibility and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.

»We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfil all necessary requirements."

On Thursday, Trump said there had been «street takeovers» in Boston and claimed FIFA would move matches for next summer's finals if he asked.

«If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who's phenomenal, and I would say, 'Let's move it to another location',» he told reporters in the U.S. on Tuesday.

«And he would do that. He wouldn't love to do it, but he'd do it very easily.

»He'd do it and this is the right time to do it.

«I could say the same thing for the Olympics. If I thought L.A. was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it to another location.

»If I had to on that one, I'd probably have to get a different kind of a permission, but we would do that."

-Trump threatens to pull World Cup games from Boston