00:00The organizers of the 2026 World Cup have reversed course and are now conceding that the U.S. government has the authority to move matches for safety and security reasons before next summer's tournament.
00:13FIFA's statement comes in response to the latest warning from President Donald Trump, this time involving Boston.
00:19Trump has previously talked about moving World Cup matches away from what he called dangerous cities, using Seattle and San Francisco as examples.
00:32He was asked on Tuesday about recent protests in Boston and reiterated his point about moving matches, saying he would just make a call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
00:43If 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.
00:54And he would do that. He wouldn't love to do it, but he'd do it. Very easily he'd do it. And this is the right time to do it.
01:01FIFA responded to multiple media outlets with a statement that read,
01:05That statement contradicts earlier comments from FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani, who said in September that FIFA makes those decisions.
01:32Boston is currently set to host seven World Cup matches next summer.
01:37Mayor Michelle Wu responded to Trump's remarks on the Java with Jimmy podcast on Wednesday,
01:43saying the city is ready to welcome fans from around the world and preparations for the tournament have been ongoing for years.
01:50Much of it is locked down by contract so that no single person, even if they live in the White House currently, can undo it.
01:58But we're in a world where for drama, for control, for pushing the boundaries, for just ongoing threats that are issued to individuals and communities who refuse to back down.
02:15There's been no mention of how FIFA would move any of the 78 matches that will be held in the U.S.
02:20or if any backup sites have been chosen.
02:23FIFA said there's no reason to believe there are any issues with the 16 host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
02:30More than one million tickets have been sold for the World Cup, FIFA announced on Thursday.
02:35It's the first update on ticket numbers since the official start of sales began in early October.
02:41FIFA said people from 212 different countries and territories have bought tickets so far.
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