FIFA vice-president, Victor Montagliani, has made it clear that US President Donald Trump cannot decide which cities will host games in the 2026 World Cup.
Montagliani, who is also president of CONCACAF, stated this at a conference in London.
He was reacting to suggestions made by Trump, that he would move games away from cities he thought could be “even a little dangerous for the World Cup”.
Montagliani has now told the Whitehouse that they have no jurisdiction over which cities will host games in the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s FIFA’s tournament, FIFA’s jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions,” he said.
“With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them and football will survive their regime and their government and their slogans.”
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted jointly between Canada, the US and Mexico.