US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw American cities for the players’ role for the World Cup next summer if, in his view, they should be “a bit dangerous” for the mega event.
The same applies to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The 79-year-old said in front of reporters in the White House on Thursday.
“If I think it is not sure, we move to another city,” said Trump: “If I think it is not sure, we will move it (the World Cup) from this city.” But he hoped that this would not happen. Trump repeatedly complains about broken crime in cities that are ruled by Democrats.
The eleven US host cities in the 2026 World Cup are Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia. The tournament also takes place in Canada and Mexico.
May Trump?
However, there is great doubts about the practical implementation of a possible new city – not only because of already signed contracts. It also raises the question of authority for the US government, even if Trump maintains a good wire on FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
In order to contain the crime he defends, Trump has already sent the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington. Most recently, he announced the commitment of national guards, FBI employees and drug investigators for the also democratically ruled city of Memphis in the US state of Tennessee. On Thursday, Trump renewed the threat of using the National Guard in Chicago. Chicago and the state of Illinois reject the plans.