Boston's Leader Michelle Wu Counters Trump's Threat to Relocate World Cup Matches from City

The mayor of Boston, Mayor Wu, suggested that the city was prepared for a face-off with US President Donald Trump over his claim that he could instruct FIFA to remove World Cup tournament matches from the stadium in Foxborough, situated 22 miles south-west of Boston.

Wu spoke on a Boston-based podcast recently to answer comments from the White House, which had labeled her as "radical left." Trump had warned that he would contact FIFA President Gianni Infantino if Boston did not "address its issues."

Much of it is secured by contract so that no one, even the president, can change it.

Wu added, "We live in a time where for attention, for control, for pushing the boundaries ... repeated warnings ... are issued at people and cities who refuse to back down and submit or follow along to a hateful agenda."

She further stated, "We are going to continue being who we are, and that means, unfortunately, we are going to be in a conversation that is targeting Boston's values." Wu finished by stressing her commitment for the city, declaring, "Fully committed for Boston."

The President's Comments and FIFA's Involvement

Recently, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was photographed alongside Trump at the Gaza summit in Egypt. The FIFA president has also visited the Oval Office and given World Cup and club championship awards to the president as gifts.

On Tuesday, President Trump was questioned on recent disturbances in South Boston that involved a police vehicle being set on fire. He responded, "If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there's danger, I would call Gianni – the head of FIFA, who's great."

Trump added, "I would say: 'We should relocate the games' and they would do that. He might not prefer it. But he would do it very easily." Trump also directly criticized Mayor Wu, saying, "Their mayor is not good ... she's radical left, and they're dominating some areas in Boston. That's a strong claim, right?"

Previous Warnings and Upcoming Tournament Details

Trump has previously suggested that he would take the similar discussion with Infantino about moving games from Seattle and San Francisco, which are part of the 16 host cities across North America.

The United States is co-hosting the 2026 tournament with Mexico and Canada. The 48-team event is planned to be played from 11 June to July 19 in the coming year.