Donald Trump told ‘FIFA makes those decisions’ amid World Cup cities uncertainty

Moving matches away from 2026 World Cup host cities would be a decision for FIFA, not Donald Trump, the organisation’s vice-president Victor Montagliani has said.

The United States President spoke last week about the possibility of moving games away from cities he considered “dangerous”.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has developed a close bond with Trump, whose country is co-hosting next summer’s finals alongside Canada and Mexico.

However, Montagliani insisted decisions on which cities would stage games remained a matter for FIFA.

“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” he said at Leaders Week London at the Allianz Stadium.

President Trump said last week his administration would make sure cities were “safe”, adding that Seattle and San Francisco were “run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing”.

“If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup… because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it,” Trump added.

“We’ll move it around a little bit.”

Seattle’s Lumen Field is set to host six matches at next summer’s finals, with Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara – an hour away from San Francisco – due to host a further six.

Montagliani said football was “bigger” than the polarised political rhetoric evident in the US at the moment, and added: “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.”

Asked whether the political situation in the US caused him and FIFA a headache, Montagliani said: “It depends, you know. Motrin more than Tylenol – although we’re not allowed to have Tylenol any more!

“That’s the beauty of our game, is that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.”

The reference to Tylenol follows an announcement from the Trump administration regarding a link between taking paracetamol when pregnant and autism in children. The World Health Organisation says there is “no conclusive evidence” of a link and urged pregnant women to follow their doctors’ advice.

European viewers of next year’s World Cup could face some late nights, with Montagliani insisting the intense summer heat would be taken into consideration when scheduling games.

Montagliani said FIFA would “learn” from the experience of players and spectators at this summer’s Club World Cup.

Venues such as Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles have the option of being under cover and air-conditioned, allowing for afternoon kick-off times, but Montagliani says it is a difficult balancing act.

“We’re in conversations daily with the European broadcasters in terms of what stadiums you can play in at 3pm – the likes of Atlanta, for instance.

“Obviously what we’re trying to do, once the schedule does come out after the draw in December, is our best to ensure that all that’s taken into consideration.

“Now, will there be every game that’ll be absolutely perfect kick-off time from a TV perspective?

“I don’t know, because there’s a lot of games, but that’s all taken into consideration.”

Montagliani reiterated his opposition to expanding the World Cup to 64 teams for the centenary tournament in 2030, an idea which has been proposed by the South American confederation.

However, he seemed more enthusiastic about the possibility of expanding the Club World Cup – next due to be played in 2029 – from 32 teams to 48.

“I don’t see the argument for 64 teams. It’s not just us, but UEFA and Asia who are opposed to that,” he said.

“But the Club World Cup was a massive success. We need to work out what’s feasible, (what) changes we need to make about the number of teams and the caps on each country we had for this year.”