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Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 | 2 a.m.
Editor’s note: “Behind the News” is the product of Sun staff assisted by the Sun’s AI lab, which includes a variety of tools such as Anthropic’s Claude, Perplexity AI, Google Gemini and ChatGPT.
President Donald Trump this week threatened to relocate World Cup matches scheduled for Boston in 2026, citing concerns about local crime and unrest. But can the U.S. president actually move World Cup matches? Let’s break down the facts and the potential consequences, including the impact of U.S. immigration policies on the tournament.
Why did Trump make this threat?
Trump threatened to relocate World Cup matches scheduled for suburban Boston next year, claiming parts of the city had been overtaken by unrest and criticizing Mayor Michelle Wu as “radical left” [1][2]. The threat came after questions about street takeovers in Boston this month, including an incident in which a police car was torched [3].
When asked about Wu, a Democrat he called “intelligent but radical left,” Trump said of the World Cup games: “We could take them away. I love the people of Boston, and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.” [2]
Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., about 30 miles from Boston, is scheduled to host seven matches as the U.S. co-hosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada [4]. Trump said if somebody is doing a bad job and he feels there are unsafe conditions, he would call Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA who is friendly with Trump, and request moving games to another location, claiming Infantino would “do it very easily” [1].
Who decides host cities?
Despite Trump’s assertions, FIFA — the world soccer governing body — has sole authority to select and assign World Cup host cities and venues [5]. World Cup host sites are not up to the president. 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 [1].
FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani pushed back on Trump’s comments, stating “it’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions.” Speaking at a sports business conference in London, Montagliani added that “with all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them and football will survive their regime and their government.” [7]
According to FIFA insiders, local organizers have been told that games will not be moved [1]. Planning for the expanded 48-team World Cup has been happening for years, and stadium modifications are complete. Tickets and hospitality packages have already been marketed for specific stadiums, making changes at this stage highly impractical.
FIFA issued a statement saying: “We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to fulfill all necessary requirements for a successful 2026 World Cup. It is ultimately the government’s responsibility to decide what’s in the best interest of public safety,” not completely closing the door on the possibility of moving matches. [8]
Reactions from host cities
Host city leaders have pushed back strongly against Trump’s threats.
Wu responded with a statement: “Boston is honored and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city, the cradle of liberty and city of champions” [3].
Lisa Gillmor, the mayor of Santa Clara, Calif., said any suggestion that Santa Clara is unsafe “is simply not based in fact. We have been preparing for these games for nearly three years, and we will be proud to welcome the world to Santa Clara for the World Cup next year” [9].
Massachusetts state Sen. Paul Feeney, a Democrat, noted that planning for the seven scheduled games at Gillette Stadium has taken years. “The most unsafe thing that he could do is to take an event and move it to a city and a state that hasn’t been prepared, like we have here in Massachusetts” [3].
Impact of Trump’s policies
While Trump cannot unilaterally move World Cup matches, his immigration stance and policies are already creating significant concerns about international attendance and the tournament’s success.
Immigration crackdowns and travel restrictions
On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to apply “maximum vetting” to all visa applicants [10]. Visa applicants from around the world now face expanded surveillance and ballooning backlogs. For example, the average wait time for a tourist visa at the American embassy in Bogota, Colombia, is now 15 months [10].
Trump’s travel ban targets citizens of 12 countries, with restrictions on travel from seven others, and a State Department memo indicates officials are reviewing travel policy toward an additional 36 countries [11]. This includes a presidential proclamation restricting entry from 19 countries, many in Africa and the Middle East, affecting certain World Cup fan bases (even if players and coaches are exempt) [10].
Starting in early 2026, foreign tourists entering the U.S., including those attending World Cup matches, will be required to pay a $250 entry fee as part of a broader overhaul of immigration and border policies [12].
Aggressive immigration enforcement and travel restrictions could deter international visitors — athletes, fans and journalists — from attending matches in the U.S. This includes highly visible actions by Customs and Border Protection and ICE at major events and public spaces [10].
Declining international tourism with restrictions
In May, the World Travel and Tourism Council projected that international travel spending in the U.S. will plunge by 22% this year, a $12.5 billion loss. Among 184 countries studied, the U.S. is the only one expected to see a decline in spending by foreign visitors [10].
The National Travel and Tourism Office released data showing visitors to the U.S. from foreign countries fell 9.7% in March compared with the same month last year [10].
Economic risk with immigration concerns
The economic stakes are enormous. The tournament, the largest in World Cup history with an expanded field of 48 teams and 104 matches, will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and is expected to draw nearly twice as many visitors from June 11 to July 19, 2026, as the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022 [13]. The U.S. could enjoy more than $3.75 billion of the economic boost the entire tournament is expected to generate [10].
Cities like Philadelphia anticipated welcoming 500,000 tourists with an expected economic impact of $770 million. Kansas City, Mo., which will host four matches, is projecting $653 million in direct revenue [10]. There are growing concerns that these ambitious projections may fall short due to the new entry fee and immigration restrictions.
Victor Matheson, a professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts who specializes in the economics of mega sports events, said “it is the foreign visitors that have the largest positive economic impact on the host country for a mega event like this.” Matheson noted that Trump has made it “quite clear that foreign visitors, foreign students, foreign companies and immigrants should stay away” [10].
How was the World Cup awarded to North America?
The concept of a joint bid among the three North American countries was first proposed in 2016. The joint bid was officially unveiled April 10, 2017, under which the tournament would be held at venues in all three countries [15].
Originally starting with candidates from 44 cities and 49 stadiums across North America, the process to select venues began in 2017. Potential applicants were asked to provide information about each city’s transportation infrastructure, past experience hosting major sporting and cultural events, available accommodations, environmental protection initiatives, potential venues and more [15].
The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It will be the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation [6].
A FIFA delegation, led by CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Montagliani, conducted visits of all candidate host cities at the end of 2021. FIFA announced the 16 North American cities that will host matches for the 2026 World Cup on June 16, 2022 [15].
What is the FIFA World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup is an international association of football competition among the senior men’s national teams of the members of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to World War II [16].
It is likely the most popular sporting event in the world, drawing billions of television viewers every tournament. The World Cup happens every four years in order to have enough time for the qualification tournaments and playoffs among national teams to take place [16].
The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. In total, 13 nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America. Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in the final in front of 93,000 spectators in Montevideo, becoming the first nation to win the World Cup [16].
The 2026 tournament will be the first with 48 teams and is expected to break all attendance records [6][16].
Sources
[1] https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/politics/trump-boston-fifa-world-cup-hnk
[2] https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/46596799/trump-threatens-pull-world-cup-games-boston-unrest
[3] https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-police-cruiser-destroyed-julian-bowers-william-cantwell/
[4] https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/host-cities
[5] https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5555372-why-moving-the-world-cup-is-such-a-dangerous-decision/
[7] https://www.si.com/soccer/fifa-vp-responds-president-trump-remarks-moving-2026-world-cup-games
[8] https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news/fifa-world-cup/fifa-donald-trump-world-cup-2026-usa-241966-20251015
[9] https://www.foxla.com/news/trump-world-cup-dangerous-host-cities
[10] https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/how-trumps-immigration-crackdown-threatens-the-world-cup/
[11] https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/07/21/dont-exclude-the-world-from-the-world-cup
[12] https://colombiaone.com/2025/07/16/trump-world-cup-tourist-fee/
[13] https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/5412766-trumps-immigration-policies-could-wreck-the-world-cup-and-the-olympics/
[14] https://brobible.com/sports/article/stadium-embarrassingly-empty-mexico-third-place/
[15] https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37629375/world-cup-2026-host-cities-revealed-11-venues-us-3-mexico-2-canada
[16] https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup
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