U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston, after suggesting parts of the city had been “taken over” by unrest.
Foxborough, Mass., home to the NFL’s New England Patriots and about 48 kilometres 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.”
He suggested “they’re taking over parts of Boston” without offering details but added “we could get them back in about two seconds.”
The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal fights.
Wu’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The excitement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is ramping up with just 10 months to go until the big soccer event. Earlier today fans got a chance to see the FIFA World Cup trophy in person in Vancouver, while it was on display at Jack Poole Plaza. CBC News stopped to chat with fans who had lined-up to see the trophy.
Trump’s comments came during his meeting with Argentina President Javier Milei and it wasn’t immediately clear what he was referring to by parts of Boston having been seized. Earlier this month, however, there were multiple arrests in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on Boston Common. Four police officers were injured.
Trump has previously suggested he could declare cities “not safe” for the 104-game soccer tournament and alter a detailed hosting plan 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. Trump said Infantino “wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.”
