FIFA Backs Down, Suggests Trump Could Move World Cup Games

FIFA has changed its tune on President Donald Trump’s ability to move World Cup games after Trump threatened to do so for the second time.

FIFA had previously said that Trump did not have the jurisdiction to make such changes.

The global soccer governing body released a statement in response to Trump’s comments Tuesday, when he said he could take games away from Boston. “If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni [Infantino], the head of FIFA, who is phenomenal, and I would say ‘Let’s move it to another location,’” the president said in response to a question about “street takeovers” in Boston. “And he would do that. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it. Very easily, he’d do it.”

FIFA then released a statement saying it defers to Trump when it comes to security. “Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide,” the organization said in a statement. “Safety and security are obviously the governments’ responsibility and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.

“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements.”

The U.S. will host the majority of matches for next summer’s tournament in 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, L.A., Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle, and the San Francisco Bay Area. (Some of the venues, including the Boston, New York, and San Francisco ones, are suburban NFL stadiums far away from the actual cities.) Mexico and Canada will also host matches in Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Last month, Trump was asked about the World Cup going to Seattle and San Francisco, cities with Democratic mayors. “If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics … we won’t allow it to go,” he said.

A week later, FIFA vice president Victor Montagliani shut down Trump’s idea.

“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” Montagliani said at a conference in London. “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. That’s the beauty of our game, that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country.”

FIFA has now flip-flopped, reemphasizing the organization’s close ties to Trump. The president earlier this week invited Infantino to the Gaza peace talks, where the FIFA chief said the organization would rebuild soccer facilities in the region. FIFA this summer opened a new office in Trump Tower, and the original Club World Cup trophy has repeatedly been seen in the Oval Office after Infantino let Trump keep it. Trump also presented Chelsea with their Club World Cup trophy and took pictures with the team.

FIFA’s negotiations with host cities have largely happened behind closed doors, but Seattle’s public host city agreement includes a clause that says FIFA could strip the city of hosting duties if it does not increase (and pay for) public safety measures such as heightened security and transportation. It’s likely that the clause appears in other host city agreements that are not public.