President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that Boston could lose its 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, citing what he called the city’s spiraling disorder and failed leadership.
The announcement came during a meeting with Argentina’s president at the White House, where Trump expressed frustration over recent disturbances in Boston. The city is scheduled to host seven fixtures at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, as part of the tournament co-organized by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. FIFA confirmed the 16 host venues in 2022, with 104 matches set to begin June 11, 2026, at NFL facilities across major cities including Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.
Trump’s remarks followed a pro-Palestinian rally earlier this month on Boston Common that erupted into clashes, injuring four police officers and leading to multiple arrests. He placed blame on Boston’s Democratic mayor, Michelle Wu, saying, “We can take them away. I love the people of Boston. And I know the games are sold out, but the mayor is not good. There are worse than her. At least she’s intelligent. You know, some are extremely low IQ. Those bother me more. She’s intelligent, but she’s radical left.”
Donald Trump says he could decide to take World Cup matches off Boston citing safety concerns – stepping up criticism of the Democrat mayor
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) October 14, 2025
He said stability could be restored within moments and pledged that, if safety concerns persist, he would contact FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request that the matches be reassigned. “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,” Trump said.
FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani reiterated that venue selections are solely the organization’s decision. “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.
