Trump says U.S. World Cup host cities could be moved if unsafe

President Donald Trump said Thursday that United States World Cup host cities could be moved if he determined any location was unsafe for players and fans. Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump cited a decline in crime in Washington, D.C., after National Guard troops were deployed and said a similar approach would be applied to Chicago and Memphis in the coming days.

For the World Cup, Trump said, because games are played across many cities, “If I think it’s not safe, we’re moving it out of that city.” He added that if any city is “even a little bit dangerous” for the tournament, authorities “won’t allow it to go to that. We’ll move it around a little bit.” He noted that Washington, Chicago and Memphis would not host the event. Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Philadelphia, Santa Clara and East Rutherford will be the host cities in the United States. The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 11 and run through July 19.

Trump credited FBI Director Kash Patel with helping to decrease crime in Chicago and repeated that safety concerns would guide the selection of World Cup sites. If security considerations require it, he said, the organizers would redistribute matches to other venues.

The remarks come as security planning for a multi-city World Cup is conducted across urban areas, with officials outlining contingencies to reallocate games to different venues if needed. The president’s statements come as part of ongoing discussions about public safety and the logistics of hosting a national-scale event across multiple cities.

Meanwhile, organizers have identified a slate of U.S. venues prepared to stage World Cup matches, reflecting a broad geographic footprint intended to spread fan engagement and travel demands. The schedule and venue designations are designed to balance security needs with access for supporters nationwide, even as officials monitor evolving public safety conditions across cities.