No, FIFA hasn't excluded the US from hosting the 2026 World Cup
Rumours have been circulating on social media that sports governing body FIFA has dropped the United States as a co-host of the 2026 football World Cup because of US President Donald Trump’s travel bans. In reality, FIFA hasn’t made any such declaration and, indeed, has continued to refer to three hosts of the tournament: the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Issued on: 13/10/2025
By: The FRANCE 24 Observers/
Nora LITOUSSI
Screengrab of the TikTok post shared by kalam.news4 on June 3. © TikTok
"It’s official, FIFA has decided that the 2026 World Cup will not be held in the United States,” says the voiceover on a video posted on TikTok by the account Duck@news, which has since been shared more than 3,000 times. Numerous TikTok and Facebook accounts have been spreading this rumour that FIFA decided to drop the United States as a co-host of the tournament because of US President Donald Trump’s travel bans and clampdown on immigration.
According to these posts, both team delegations and supporters are afraid of being kicked out of the country by the very active US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and are starting to consider the United States as “unsafe”. The posts also claimed that several countries had announced their decision to boycott the World Cup.
In reality, while there is tension between FIFA and the US president, there has been no official declaration that the United States has been dropped as a co-host.
FIFA documents show no indication of the US being dropped
In its last press release, published October 8, 2025, FIFA continues to refer to the United States as a co-host. “Hosting of the tournament will be shared between Canada, Mexico and the USA,” reads a subheading.
A post from October 2 describes the ball designed specially for the tournament.
“Iconography that represents each host country adorns the ball, with the maple leaf for Canada, an eagle for Mexico and a star for the United States, while gold embellishments pay tribute to the FIFA World Cup Trophy,” it reads.
"It’s official, FIFA has decided that the 2026 World Cup will not be held in the United States,” says the voiceover on a video posted on TikTok by the account Duck@news, which has since been shared more than 3,000 times. Numerous TikTok and Facebook accounts have been spreading this rumour that FIFA decided to drop the United States as a co-host of the tournament because of US President Donald Trump’s travel bans and clampdown on immigration.
According to these posts, both team delegations and supporters are afraid of being kicked out of the country by the very active US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and are starting to consider the United States as “unsafe”. The posts also claimed that several countries had announced their decision to boycott the World Cup.
In reality, while there is tension between FIFA and the US president, there has been no official declaration that the United States has been dropped as a co-host.
FIFA documents show no indication of the US being dropped
In its last press release, published October 8, 2025, FIFA continues to refer to the United States as a co-host. “Hosting of the tournament will be shared between Canada, Mexico and the USA,” reads a subheading.
A post from October 2 describes the ball designed specially for the tournament.
“Iconography that represents each host country adorns the ball, with the maple leaf for Canada, an eagle for Mexico and a star for the United States, while gold embellishments pay tribute to the FIFA World Cup Trophy,” it reads.
In FIFA’s latest press release, published October 8, 2025, the sports governing body still lists the United States as a co-host of the 2026 World Cup. The calendar for the 2026 World Cup includes games scheduled in many different US cities, which we’ve outlined in red in the image above. © FIFA
The official calendar, which you can see on FIFA’s website, confirms this information. Out of the 16 cities selected to host games, 11 are in the United States, ranging from Seattle to Miami. The World Cup final is set for July 19, 2026 in New York City’s MetLife Stadium, one of the nation’s largest stadiums.
There is therefore no real basis for the social media posts claiming that the United States was kicked out of the World Cup organisation.
Donald Trump threatens to move 2026 World Cup matches
Trump is, however, facing accusations that he is using the World Cup as an instrument for his own political agenda. Trump announced that he would refuse access to the Iranian delegation for the World Cup draw to be held in the United States later this year. Back in June, he already announced that Iranian fans would not be allowed to travel to the United States due to, as Trump said, security concerns.
There are also fears that Trump may ban Brazilian fans from travelling to the United States, likely a decision made to put pressure on the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
And within the United States, Trump has threatened to move World Cup games from cities he deems “unsafe”, including Seattle and San Francisco.
"[Seattle and San Francisco are] run by radical left lunatics who don't know what they're doing,” he said during a press conference held on September 26. “But we’re going to make sure they’re safe … If I think [a city] is not safe, we're going to move it out of that city.”
Seven of the 11 US host cities are run by a liberal mayor. Seattle, for example, is expecting more than 750,000 visitors and nearly 930 million dollars in economic benefits from the games scheduled there.
FIFA, however, was quick to respond to Trump’s statements and remind him that, at least when it comes to the World Cup, he’s not in charge.
"It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions," Victor Montagliani, the organisation's vice president, said during a conference in London on October 1. "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. That's the beauty of our game, that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country."
This article has been translated from the original in French.
The official calendar, which you can see on FIFA’s website, confirms this information. Out of the 16 cities selected to host games, 11 are in the United States, ranging from Seattle to Miami. The World Cup final is set for July 19, 2026 in New York City’s MetLife Stadium, one of the nation’s largest stadiums.
There is therefore no real basis for the social media posts claiming that the United States was kicked out of the World Cup organisation.
Donald Trump threatens to move 2026 World Cup matches
Trump is, however, facing accusations that he is using the World Cup as an instrument for his own political agenda. Trump announced that he would refuse access to the Iranian delegation for the World Cup draw to be held in the United States later this year. Back in June, he already announced that Iranian fans would not be allowed to travel to the United States due to, as Trump said, security concerns.
There are also fears that Trump may ban Brazilian fans from travelling to the United States, likely a decision made to put pressure on the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
And within the United States, Trump has threatened to move World Cup games from cities he deems “unsafe”, including Seattle and San Francisco.
"[Seattle and San Francisco are] run by radical left lunatics who don't know what they're doing,” he said during a press conference held on September 26. “But we’re going to make sure they’re safe … If I think [a city] is not safe, we're going to move it out of that city.”
Seven of the 11 US host cities are run by a liberal mayor. Seattle, for example, is expecting more than 750,000 visitors and nearly 930 million dollars in economic benefits from the games scheduled there.
FIFA, however, was quick to respond to Trump’s statements and remind him that, at least when it comes to the World Cup, he’s not in charge.
"It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction, FIFA makes those decisions," Victor Montagliani, the organisation's vice president, said during a conference in London on October 1. "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. That's the beauty of our game, that it is bigger than any individual and bigger than any country."
This article has been translated from the original in French.
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