U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says if smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to blanket New Jersey ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump will not hesitate to ask the game be postponed.
“If the pollution is so bad that it’s dangerous to the players or it’s dangerous to the fans, the first person to say don’t hold the game will be the President of the United States,” Hoekstra told Global News in an exclusive interview.
Hoekstra said conversations with FIFA were currently taking place about the air quality ahead of the final between Spain and Argentina.
“We’re not going to jeopardize the health and well-being of the players, or from people around the world, by setting a game that is in unsafe conditions,” said Hoekstra.
The final is set for Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, an open-air venue in East Rutherford, N.J., where air quality reached “unhealthy for everyone” levels on Friday, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
Trump is expected to attend the final and hand out the FIFA World Cup trophy to the winners of the match.
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Smoke from Canadian wildfires has blanketed large parts of the United States, estimated to be impacting over 100 million Americans, leading to threats of additional tariffs on Canada from the U.S. president.
Air quality was enough of a concern on Thursday night that MLS postponed the Chicago Fire-Vancouver Whitecaps soccer match scheduled to be played at Soldier Field in Chicago. The MLB also had at least one baseball game postponed and others moved due to the dangerous air quality.
“You can sense the atmosphere a little and you can see there’s smoke in the air,” said Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino on Friday, a day after his team trained outside in hazardous conditions ahead of the World Cup final.
“But for a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible.”
The predicted air quality for the weekend outside New York is “not extreme by any measure. Also not optimal,” said Christopher Carlsten, the head of the Respiratory Medicine Division at the University of British Columbia.
“On Sunday, what’s predicted in the current models, again, subject to change, is pollution levels of 10 to 20 micrograms per cubic meter. And just to put it in perspective, the recommended for overall health in the World Health Organization is closer to 5.”
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