Relocating World Cup matches unlikely despite Trump rhetoric, current and former officials say

NEW YORK: Senior figures behind the 2026 World Cup dismissed concerns that US president Donald Trump could move matches from cities he does not deem “safe.”
Republican president Trump said last month that he would consider moving games from Democrat-controlled San Francisco and Seattle if they did not cooperate with his immigration and crime initiatives.
He raised the issue again this week, this time targeting Boston and its Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu, suggesting he could appeal directly to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino.
John Kristick, who led Canada, Mexico and the United States’ successful bid to jointly host the 2026 finals, emphasized that planning has been underway for nearly a decade and remains unaffected by political rhetoric.
“From what I’m seeing, there’s been zero distraction in terms of the preparedness,” Kristick, co-head of global events at Playfly Sports Consulting, told Reuters.
“Tickets are already being sold.

Hospitality packages have been sold for almost a year now.”
Over one million World Cup tickets have been purchased so far, FIFA said on Thursday, with fans from 212 countries and territories snapping up seats.
The United States account for 11 of the 16 host cities for the largest-ever edition of the tournament, with 48 teams and 104 matches in the expanded tournament.
The quadrennial soccer showcase is returning to the United States for the first time since 1994, when the tournament sparked a new era for the sport in a country long ambivalent to it.
Earlier this year, Miami World Cup
officials
moved to allay fears that the United States’ stricter
immigration
stance under Trump could deter overseas fans that it hopes to attract.
FIFA previously said that the global governing body for soccer has the