United States President Donald Trump has said he will consider moving matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup away from host cities he deems unsafe, raising questions over his authority to intervene in the tournament’s organisation.

The World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is set to feature a record 48 teams.

The U.S. will stage 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the highly anticipated final.

Eleven U.S. cities are currently scheduled to host games: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle.

When pressed by reporters, Trump singled out the Democratic-run cities of Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, all of which have been criticised in recent years for crime rates and social unrest.

“If any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup, or for the Olympics, but for the World Cup in particular, because they’re playing in so many cities, we won’t allow it to go. We’ll move it around a little bit,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

FIFA, world football’s governing body, has the only control over match organisation and venue selection, and any attempt to alter plans this late in the process would pose massive logistical and contractual challenges.

It remains unclear whether Trump has the legal authority to force changes, although his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his role as chair of the U.S. World Cup task force could give him influence behind the scenes.

Trump has made tackling crime a central theme of his administration. Over the past year, he has deployed National Guard troops and federal officers into U.S. cities, including Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, despite data showing crime rates had already begun to fall from their 2023 peak.

He recently announced plans to send troops into Memphis and Chicago, and in June ordered 2,000 Guardsmen into Los Angeles following unrest linked to raids on undocumented migrants.

The President insists that the World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will be “safe,” but stressed that he would not hesitate to act if he perceived any risks.

This is not the first time Trump has used the World Cup to highlight his political agenda. In May, he controversially suggested that allowing Russia to play in the tournament could serve as an “incentive” to end the war in Ukraine, despite Russia’s ongoing ban from international football.

Earlier this year, he also claimed that tensions with co-hosts Canada and Mexico, heightened by tariffs on imports, would somehow make the World Cup “stronger.”

The group stage draw for the tournament is scheduled for 5 December in Washington, DC, with the competition running from 11 June to 19 July 2026.