Several World Cup host cities in the U.S. monitoring political situation amid President Trump's immigration crackdown
The U.S. host cities for the FIFA World Cup in 2026 admitted on Monday they were 'monitoring closely' the current political situation in the United States amid rising tensions over President Trump's crackdown on immigration — but insisted visitors will be made welcome at the tournament.
FIFA's President Gianni Infantino claimed earlier this year that 'America will welcome the world' for next year's tournament, which will be shared across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Infantino said: 'America will welcome the world. Everyone who wants to come here to enjoy, to have fun and to celebrate the game will be able to do that.'
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Infantino has also claimed that FIFA's tournaments in the U.S., first the Club World Cup in 2025 and then the World Cup next year, will generate almost $50 billion in economic output for the U.S. Foreign travellers are integral to hitting these targets for both FIFA and the host cities.
However, this past weekend has seen protests develop against the government, and clashes between protestors and the authorities. During an event in New York City to mark a year out from the 2026 tournament, host city officials were forced to address concerns that the current political environment may dissuade visitors from travelling to the United States. California has been a hotspot for the developments, with President Trump sending in the National Guard to protect immigration agents and the state of California now say they will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The administration last week imposed wide-ranging travel bans against over a dozen countries.
Speaking in New York City, the Philadelphia host city executive Meg Kane said: 'For us as host cities, we recognize that our charge as host cities is to be prepared to welcome whomever is in our city and to make them feel welcome when they are there. There are certainly things that are happening at the national level, the international level. There are going to be geo-political issues that we don't even know right now that are going to affect the tournament next year.
'So we recognize that we're planning within uncertainty. One of the things that I think we all recognize is that we have to be really good at operating within that uncertainty. For each of our cities, we want to be prepared to make any person that makes the decision to come to the United States for this World Cup, feel that they are welcome.
'We do not play a role necessarily in what is happening in terms of the decisions that are made. What we can say is that the current administration — while there are certain situations that we are watching, that we are certainly monitoring closely — has been extremely supportive of the World Cup.'
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'It has to be recognized both now in the second term under President Trump — but also in the first term when President Trump was in power when the letters of intent were signed – how important FIFA World Cup is to elevating the nation and how important it is to sporting side. There is that understanding. I think we feel that that has been communicated to us at the federal level.
'We all share confidence in the fact that we're going to prepare our cities the best that we can. We allow for FIFA to continue having constructive conversations with the administration around visas, around workforce, around tourism, and that we will be prepared for whatever comes our way.'
Speaking to The Athletic, Jason Krutzsch, Vice President, Marketing & Communications for the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, said: 'We're actively monitoring. It's all unfolding in real time.'
Asked to explain what monitoring actually entails, he added: 'We're all learning about it right now just how it's all unfolding and we're gonna use the information and figure out how to work across all the cities to deliver the most exceptional experience that we can next year. Meg said it on the stage to just really focus on (the fact that) people are coming and we need to be prepared for that, and we're going to be prepared for whoever is wanting to come. Our markets will be prepared to welcome them with open arms and deliver an exceptional experience.'
(Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images)
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