U.S. cities hosting next year’s FIFA World Cup faced questions on Wednesday about how to reassure international fans concerned by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and travel ban as the year-to-go countdown began.
The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, is set to co-host the finals, which will feature 48 teams and a record 104 matches in a tournament that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said would usher in a new generation of soccer fans.
Celebrities and soccer stars were due to walk the red carpet at the Fox Studio Lot in Los Angeles – one of the host cities – for the year-to-go event there, a day after President Trump deployed Marines and the National Guard to quell protests.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the deployment as an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”, while Trump officials defended it and branded the protests as lawless, blaming local and state Democrats for permitting upheaval.
Los Angeles is one of several host cities that will mark the year-to-go occasion, including New York-New Jersey, which will welcome fans at a waterside festival in Jersey City with the Statue of Liberty in view.
“If we look at (American) football as the U.S.’s sport, soccer is the world’s sport and this is an opportunity for us to welcome people from all over the world”, Alex Lasry, the New York-New Jersey host Committee CEO, told Reuters.
Los Angeles is one of several host cities that will mark the year-to-go occasion, including New York-New Jersey, which will welcome fans at a waterside festival in Jersey City with the Statue of Liberty in view.
“If we look at (American) football as the U.S.’s sport, soccer is the world’s sport and this is an opportunity for us to welcome people from all over the world”, Alex Lasry, the New York-New Jersey host Committee CEO said.
