Does the World Cup have a Trump problem in the Bay Area?

When President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino broadcasted in August that the World Cup draw which will determine squad groups for the games certain of which will be played in the Bay Area would take place Dec at the Kennedy Center in Washington D C a video circulated globally showing a grinning Trump wearing a red hat that read Trump Was Right About Everything It s for winners only and since you re a winner you can touch it Infantino disclosed handing the World Cup s -inch -pound pure gold trophy to Trump Can I keep it Trump mentioned I am not giving it back The exchange was emblematic of a relationship that blossomed between the U S president and the president of soccer s governing body as the United States prepares to host a majority of the matches in next year s global tournament Infantino who assumed his post in has spent the last year cozying up to Trump making appearances at the president s inauguration in January and a peace summit in Egypt in October where Trump helped broker a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel In early November Infantino and FIFA created a peace prize to be awarded during the draw ceremony on Friday when national teams will be assigned to twelve groups of four each the official locations venues and times for these matches will be declared a day after It is widely assumed that the prize will go to Trump who has been coveting citizens recognition for his perceived global peace efforts With that gesture and others FIFA and Infantino have positioned Trump as the face of the global competition which is the first World Cup to be hosted by three countries Mexico Canada and the United States Yet Trump is unpopular in various of the eleven U S cities and regions hosting the matches including in the Bay Area Related Articles A supersized World Cup field begins taking shape at Friday s draw Trump to prioritize US visas for fans visiting for World Cup Olympics other events Trump Sheinbaum to meet for first time at World Cup event Trump s immigration message is colliding with his welcome to World Cup fans US stadiums proposed for Women s World Cup Levi s and Oracle Park listed as possibilities What s more the president has targeted Democratic-run cities and states in the first year of his second term threatening to revoke federal funding and cracking down on immigrants living in the country illegally Trump s federalizing of the National Guard in cities like Los Angeles and Portland has been met with fierce pushback from Democratic leaders and sparked a deluge of litigation trying to block his control of the troops Whether Trump might try to meddle with the status of a U S city set to host games next year the bulk of which are run by Democrats became a real possibility following a Nov Oval Office press conference Flanked by Infantino and Secretary of Homeland Safeguard Kristi Noem the president issued a veiled threat to mayors and governors telling them to behave Trump also mentioned he d be happy to send in the National Guard to any city that might want their assistance with keeping soccer fans safe If we think there s going to be a sign of any trouble I would ask Gianni to move that to a different city Trump informed reporters Trump had suggested moving the World Cup out of unsafe cities before Costly preparations for the World Cup however have been underway for years the host cities which include three in Mexico and two in Canada were reported in The Bay Area Host Committee which is covering the cost of putting on the six matches at Levi s Stadium in Santa Clara is expected to shell out between million and million A spokesperson for the organization did not respond to a request for comment about Trump s remarks FIFA also did not reply to a request for comment on its close alliance with Trump Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina reaches for a kick from the United States in the second half during a Copa America Centenario Group A soccer match at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara Calif Friday June Colombia won - AP Photo Jeff Chiu But U S Rep Ro Khanna whose congressional district encompasses Santa Clara stated that moving any of the matches six months out would be the wrong decision If Trump really followed through on moving any of the games it would cause chaos and make the events less safe he commented in a report There has been years of planning and coordination going into these games including precaution FILE PHOTO - FIFA president Gianni Infantino speaks as US President Donald Trump not pictured makes an announcement from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC on August Also pictured Homeland Defense Secretary Kristi Noem R Trump says the World Cup draw will be held on December at Washington's Kennedy Center Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS AFP Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS AFP via Getty Images Santa Clara County is one of nine counties hosting matches next year that overwhelmingly voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris the two other U S counties Miami-Dade County in Florida and Tarrant County in Texas went for Trump That follows a trend that Johan Rewilak an associate professor of sport management at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom has noticed In his research Rewilak has exposed a correlation between soccer s popularity and Democratic voters There s a strong positive correlation between voting intentions and those who have an affinity with soccer he explained So typically those who are more Democratic in terms of the polling are those who are pro-soccer and advocacy soccer more than those who are Republican-voting However Rewilak suggests that FIFA and Infantino instead of solely catering to traditional soccer fans might be targeting individuals not typically interested in the global sport Trump he disclosed is very proactive using social media and whether you agree or not he has a lot of influence Multiple of his voters will be like it s OK for us to go watch soccer games maybe this is for us If our president is very pro-soccer maybe we should be But Trump s popularity has plummeted since he took office with only of Americans approving of his overall performance in November a drop from the month prior according to pollster Gallup That number is even lower among Democrats with only approving of him nationwide Josh Woods a professor of sociology at West Virginia University who has studied the role of politics in sports mentioned in an email that world soccer civilization is incompatible with Trump s nativism and nationalism But Woods added given his fondness for the spotlight and high-profile sporting events his early show of backing for the tournament and warm ties with FIFA president Gianni Infantino may hold Particular Democratic lawmakers like Rep Sam Liccardo aren t concerned with Trump s proximity or influence on FIFA authorities like Infantino In an email Liccardo who previously served as the mayor of San Jose announced that he met with FIFA during the site bidding process I know that they understand that nowhere else in the U S offers a better venue safer surroundings or more soccer-crazed fans than we do he announced As for Trump s comments on possibly moving matches the congressmember doesn t make much of them Everyone in the South Bay is hustling to ensure we re ready to host an epic World Cup he noted Anything else is a silly distraction FIFA has a history of working with controversial unpopular or authoritarian governments The and World Cups awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively were marred by disagreement surrounding their assignment and the host governments authoritarian tendencies and human rights credentials More lately multiple questions surrounded FIFA s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as the host for the tournament Decades prior a fascist ruling body ruled Italy when it hosted the World Cup and a military junta presided over the World Cup in Argentina in In Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid was widely booed during the inauguration of the World Cup at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City due to his ruling body s dreadful response to the earthquake in the city This year Trump was also booed at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey during the FIFA Club World Cup final Rewilak believes people will attend U S games regardless of who is the face of the tournament Affair in point FIFA has already sold millions of tickets for the World Cup During the World Cup the common goal is supporting the United States national association and the United States is very patriotic as a country Rewilak added But Woods is not so sure Situating President Trump in a prominent role around the final draw for the FIFA World Cup would be like choosing Nancy Pelosi to drive the pace car for the Indianapolis or making Bernie Sanders a guest star on a reboot of Duck Dynasty