Did FIFA move 2026 World Cup matches outside US due to concerns over Trump's immigration policies?
In June 2025, TikTok users claimed FIFA, the international soccer governing body, decided to relocate scheduled U.S.-hosted 2026 World Cup matches to Mexico or Canada — countries that are already hosting some matches. According to social media users' posts and videos, this consideration followed FIFA receiving thousands of complaints from players, coaches and fans who refused to travel to the U.S. due to concerns over stringent immigration policies imposed by President Donald Trump's administration.
For example, in early June, a TikTok user published a video (archived) announcing FIFA decided to no longer allow the U.S. to host World Cup matches in 2026. The clip received over 1.5 million views.
The clip's narrator recounted the story as follows:
FIFA has decided to hold the World Cup in 2026, and it will not be held in the United States. FIFA has decided to take away the United States' qualification as the host country of the cup, and the responsibility directly lies with President Trump. The organization is facing a major mechanical problem after thousands of players, coaches and fans announced that they would not travel to this country, which is due to the policy. Trump's crazy immigration has generated fear, tension and negative reactions at the international level. Athletes and delegation members are afraid of being arrested.
Or even with valid visas, fans all over the world consider the United States an unsafe place. For a major event like the World Cup, the situation is so serious that several countries have announced that they will boycott the event. If it is still held in the United States, it will be a direct blow to the spirit of football unity. This is why FIFA has already taken action. The official move of the competition to Mexico and Canada offers safer and more popular conditions for both players and fans.
The United States was originally the main contractor and thus lost the world's largest sports event. All of this was due to the political crisis caused by Trump's policies. Leave your comments and share this news.
Other users also shared this rumor on Bluesky (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived).
However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo, as well as The Associated Press, CNN, Fox News and The Washington Post, found no credible reporting about FIFA seriously considering relocating U.S.-hosted World Cup matches outside the U.S., at least not as of this writing in early June 2025. Rather, this matter marked the latest chapter of users sharing false or unfounded rumors, including some posts featuring the use of artificial-intelligence (AI) tools.
Snopes contacted FIFA's media relations representatives to inquire about the rumor's accuracy and will update this article with more information as it becomes available.
The aforementioned lookups of search engines located some relevant news regarding Trump's policies and the 2026 World Cup, though again no reports confirmed the central claim about FIFA deciding to move U.S.-hosted games to Canada or Mexico.
For example, in March, FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with Trump at the White House, with FIFA reporting Trump reaffirmed support for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup tournaments.
On April 25, The Associated Press reported U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a member of the Democratic Party in Oregon, asked the Trump administration to reconsider policies impacting travelers arriving in the U.S., including citing upcoming sporting events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In early May, NBC News reported members of Trump's Cabinet warned World Cup visitors to the U.S. not to overstay their visas. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also cast the tournament as "an opportunity for the world to become a friendlier place," adding, "We will take care of their documentation and travel documents, and it will go smoothly. And we will make sure that they can come and enjoy and bring their families and friends and make memories together."
On May 13, Politico (archived) reported the details of a letter (archived) the Human Rights Watch organization addressed to Infantino. The letter cited Human Rights Watch's "grave concerns" about Trump's immigration policies, and urged Infantino to be "prepared to reconsider the hosting decision" if the safety of fans and players couldn't be guaranteed. Other reports told of concerns about long visa appointment wait times, as well as European countries issuing travel advisories for the U.S.
Two days later, on May 15, Reuters (archived) reported Infantino reassured that "the world is welcome in America," referencing the 2025 and 2026 tournaments.
Trump's travel ban, which targets 12 countries and adds restrictions on others, includes exceptions for "any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State."
For further reading, a previous fact check examined the time Budweiser deleted a social media post around the time of an announcement concerning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
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