President Trump has threatened to pull World Cup games out of U.S. cities with crime problems that are also led by Democratic mayors.
U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo. 4th District, told Missourinet he is urging Trump to keep World Cup games in Kansas City.
“It’s going to mean $695 million in economic impact for hosting World Cup matches,” said Alford. “And so, we don’t want to see the region hurt. We don’t want to see Missouri hurt.”
Missouri and Kansas City have invested millions of dollars already to prepare security and tourism efforts for the games.
“This is important, I think, to our reputation as a state right in the middle of America,” Alford said. “If we don’t have this in Kansas City, there is not going to be representation in the Midwest for a World Cup host city.”
Alford acknowledged Kansas City’s crime issues but pointed to the state and city consistently meeting U.S. and FIFA safety benchmarks.
“I think (Pres. Trump is) looking at some of these cities to possibly tell (FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force Ex. Dir. Andrew Giuliani), ‘If you can’t guarantee safety for people, with millions of people pouring in from all over the world in these cities, you shouldn’t be having the World Cup,’” Alford said.
Missourinet also reached out to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, who remains confident the World Cup matches won’t be yanked. His office provided the following statement:
“As I stated before— public safety officials, including our Republican-appointed Police Board, are working daily to ensure the games in Kansas City are safe for all. I am confident in their work. FIFA loves Kansas City and Kansas City loves FIFA. We’ll be fine.”
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