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Boston's mayor, Michelle Wu, suggested that the municipality was ready for a dispute with US President Donald Trump regarding his assertion that he could instruct FIFA to remove World Cup matches from Gillette Stadium, located 22 miles southwest of the city.

Mayor Wu appeared on a local podcast recently to address comments from the Trump administration, which had labeled her as "far-left." Trump had threatened that he would contact the head of FIFA if Boston did not "clean up its act."

A great deal of it is locked down by agreement so that no single person, even the president, can change it.

Wu continued, "We live in a time where for attention, for power, for pushing the boundaries ... ongoing threats ... are directed at individuals and communities who stand their ground and comply or follow along to a hateful agenda."

She further stated, "We will keep being ourselves, and that means, sadly, we are going to be part of a discussion that is challenging what Boston stands for." Wu concluded by stressing her commitment for the city, declaring, "Ten toes down for Boston."

The President's Comments and FIFA's Role

Earlier this week, Infantino was photographed alongside President Trump at the Gaza summit in Egypt. The FIFA president has also visited the Oval Office and given World Cup tournament and Club World Cup awards to Trump as gifts.

On Tuesday, Trump was asked about unrest in South Boston that included a police car being set on fire. Trump responded, "If somebody is doing a bad job, and if I feel there's danger, I would call Gianni – the president of FIFA, who's great."

He continued, "I'd tell him: 'We should relocate the games' and they would comply. He might not prefer it. But he would do it without hesitation." The president also specifically targeted Wu, saying, "Boston's mayor is not good ... she's radical left, and they're taking over parts of Boston. That's a pretty big statement, right?"

Past Threats and Upcoming Tournament Details

Trump has made previous comments that he would take the similar discussion with Infantino about relocating games from other host cities, which are among the 16 host cities across the continent.

The United States is joint hosts the 2026 World Cup with neighboring countries. The expanded tournament is scheduled to be held from June 11 to July 19 next summer.