In July 2025, social media users shared a rumor that FIFA was considering moving 2026 World Cup games from the United States — where 11 stadiums were scheduled to host the bulk of the tournament's 104 matches — to Canada.
Some posts (archived, archived) making the claim said the international soccer governing body was looking into changing venues because of concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's strict immigration policies.
Other users also shared this rumor on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads, TikTok (archived) and X (archived) in June and July 2025.
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 canceling or considering relocating U.S.-hosted World Cup matches outside the U.S., at least not as of this writing. Rather, this matter marked the latest chapter of users sharing false or unfounded rumors, including some posts featuring the use of artificial-intelligence 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.
2026 World Cup in the news
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, an Oregon Democrat, asked the Trump administration to reconsider policies affecting 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. 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.
In July, Infantino thanked Trump for making the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup — a separate tournament — "a huge success."
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, we've previously investigated claims that Trump pocketed a medal from the Club World Cup and said he would keep the tournament's trophy.