FIFA responded to President Trump’s threats to move World Cup matches from “unsafe” cities, saying the government has the final say.
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The organizers of the 2026 World Cup have reversed course and are now conceding that
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the U.S. government has the authority to move matches for safety and security reasons before
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next summer's tournament. FIFA's statement comes in response to the latest warning from
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President Donald Trump, this time involving Boston. Trump has previously talked about moving
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World Cup matches away from what he called dangerous cities, using Seattle and San Francisco
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as examples. He was asked on Tuesday about recent protests in Boston and reiterated his point
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about moving matches, saying he would just make a call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino
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If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there's unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni
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the head of FIFA, who's phenomenal, and I would say, let's move it to another location
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And he would do that. He wouldn't love to do it, but he'd do it very easily
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He'd do it. And this is the right time to do it. FIFA responded to multiple media outlets with a statement that read
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Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide
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Safety and security are obviously the government's responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety
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We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements That statement contradicts earlier comments from FIFA Vice President Victor Montaliani who said in September that FIFA makes those decisions
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Boston is currently set to host seven World Cup matches next summer
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Mayor Michelle Wu responded to Trump's remarks on the Java with Jimmy podcast on Wednesday
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saying the city is ready to welcome fans from around the world and preparations for the tournament
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have been ongoing for years. Much of it is locked down by contract so that no single person
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even if they live in the White House currently, can undo it. But we're in a world where for drama
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for control, for pushing the boundaries, for just ongoing threats that are issued to
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individuals and communities who refuse to back down. There's been no mention of how FIFA would
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move any of the 78 matches that will be held in the U.S. or if any backup sites have been chosen
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FIFA said there's no reason to believe there are any issues with the 16 host cities across the U.S.
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Canada and Mexico. More than one million tickets have been sold for the World Cup
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FIFA announced on Thursday. It's the first update on ticket numbers since the official
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start of sales began in early October. FIFA said people from 212 different countries and territories
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have bought tickets so far. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis
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