The president of Concacaf, Victor Montagliani, confirmed on Wednesday that FIFA has not considered altering the host cities of the World Cup due to comments made by President Trump. In a recent statement, Trump expressed, “if I think [a host city] isn’t safe, we’ll move it into a different city, absolutely.” However, Montagliani clarified that FIFA operates under agreements with host cities and is not swayed by political opinions.

Montagliani stated, “If I have to react every time a politician makes a statement, whether it’s a president, a senator, or a congressman… then I wouldn’t be doing my job. We’re focused on ensuring the 16 venues are ready.”

The upcoming tournament is set to be the largest World Cup in history, occurring across 16 venues in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, with Montagliani indicating strong hospitality sales. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised about public transport accessibility to venues and field conditions, which he plans to address.

“He is the president, fair enough, and words are a little heavier when it’s a president, but from an operational perspective, it wasn’t really taken into consideration.”

This quote captures how Montagliani views the relationship between political statements and FIFA operational decisions.