President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that he could take away next year’s FIFA World Cup games that are set to be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
The President made the comment when he was asked about recent violence in Boston.
A reporter asked Trump if his administration is taking any action over the recent “street takeovers” in several communities, including Boston. Earlier this month, a group shot fireworks at Boston police, setting a cruiser on fire. Trump also critisized Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, continuing their ongoing disputes over immigration and sanctuary city policies.
“We could take them away. I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good,” said President Trump. “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 and they’re taking over parts of Boston.”
Trump has no legal authority to move the World Cup to a different host city, however he said he could ask FIFA to do it.
“The answer is yes. 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 it to another location.’ And he would do that. He’d love to do it. Very easily he’d do it,” Trump told reporters.
Mayor Wu responded to Trump’s statements, writing, “Boston is honored and excited to host World Cup matches, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to our beautiful city.”
Some sports fans in New England said they hope to keep the World Cup as is.
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing that the kids, the generation of kids here that might get a chance to go see that game will miss out on,” said one man.
People also believe it drives a boost to the local economy.
“It’s really cool to have here. It brings a lot of revenue to the state, the town. I think it would be a huge loss if they took it away,” said Kerri Donovan, who wants to keep the games at Gillette Stadium.
“He’s not punishing the Mayor of Boston, he’s not punishing the Governor of Massachusetts. He’s punishing the sports fans of New England,” said one man.
Gillette Stadium is slated to host seven World Cup games, including a quarterfinal match beginning on June 13, 2026.
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