Trump threatens to yank World Cup games from Boston though it's up to FIFA to choose sites

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to relocate World Cup matches set to be played next year in suburban Boston, after suggesting that parts of the city had been “taken over” by unrest.

Foxborough, Massachusetts, home to the NFL's New England Patriots and about 30 miles from Boston, is set to stage matches as the U.S. cohosts the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. Trump was asked about Boston's mayor, Michelle Wu, a Democrat whom he called “intelligent” but "radical left.”

“We could take them away,” Trump said of the World Cup games. “I love the people of Boston and I know the games are sold out. But your mayor is not good.”

He suggested “they're taking over parts of Boston" without offering details, but added “we could get them back in about two seconds.”

The Trump administration has already deployed National Guard troops to Washington and Memphis, and efforts to do so in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, have sparked legal fights.

Wu's office did not react directly to Trump's threat, issuing a statement that read, “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, the cradle of liberty and city of champions.”

Trump's comments came during his meeting with Argentina President Javier Milei and it wasn't immediately clear what he was referring to by parts of Boston having been seized. Earlier this month, however, there were multiple arrests in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest that turned violent on Boston Common. Four police officers were injured.

Trump has previously suggested he could declare cities “not safe” for the 104-game soccer tournament and alter a detailed hosting plan that FIFA confirmed in 2022. It includes games at NFL stadiums near New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

World Cup host sites aren't up to Trump. The 11 U.S. cities — plus three in Mexico and two in Canada — are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.

“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” the soccer body’s vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London.

Trump nonetheless said, “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 into another location’ and they would do that.”

The president meant FIFA head Gianni Infantino, a close ally. Trump said Infantino “wouldn’t love to do it, but he’d do it very easily.”

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Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.