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It appears that World Cup games in California could get moved at President Trump’s request.
Earlier this week, Trump warned that he could take away World Cup games and the Olympics from California if felt Newsom wasn’t doing a good job of making Los Angeles and San Francisco safe for fans.
“If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA – and I would say, ‘Let’s move it to another location,’ and he would do that,
“Gavin Newsom – he’s got to get his act together! If he doesn’t play ball, we’re gonna have to be very tough on them!”
“If I thought LA was not going to be prepared properly, I would move it (Olympics) to another location if I had to,” he said. “On that one I’d probably have to get a different kind of a permission, but we would do that.”
Trump: “If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there is unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, and I would say, ‘let’s move it to another location.’ And he would do that … I could say the same things for the Olympics.” pic.twitter.com/5FFjEnMqrM
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 14, 2025
The President went on to say that he plans on deploying federal agents in San Francisco ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
“I’m going to be strongly recommending at the request of govt officials, which is always nice, that you start looking at San Francisco. I think we can make San Francisco — one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it’s a mess.”
FIFA has now confirmed that they are willing to move World Cup games if the government declares a city unsafe.
“Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide,” the organization said in a statement. “Safety and security are obviously the government’s responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest of public safety.”
“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfill all necessary requirements.”
San Francisco is currently set to host six World Cup matches in 2026, which includes a knockout stage game.
Los Angeles is scheduled to host eight matches and two knockout stage games.