FIFA and the White House are reportedly monitoring the conditions in East Rutherford, New Jersey, for the World Cup final between Argentina and Spain on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
There has been smoke in the area from wildfires in Canada that is causing poor air quality across the northern United States. NBC News reporter Monica Alba posted on X on Friday, July 17 that the office of President Donald Trump and the soccer federation "are in active discussions about the air quality in NY/NJ."
USA TODAY Sports reached out to FIFA and the organization did not immediately respond.
On Thursday, July 16, New York was among the cities deemed to have the worst air quality not only in the country, but in the world, according to IQ Air's World Air Quality live ranking. The city had an Air Quality Index of 208, which ranked as "very unhealthy."
Alba added that Andrew Giuliani, who is the Executive Director for the White House Task Force on the World Cup, said that authorities are "'Hopeful' contingency plans won't be needed" and that the "National Weather Service has been engaged throughout."
The poor air quality has affected other sports events across the United States. On Thursday, an MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets in Philadelphia was moved up an hour with a forecast of worse air quality later in the evening. In the MLS that same day, the Chicago Fire postponed a match that would have been Robert Lewandowski's debut against the Vancouver Whitecaps due to poor air quality in the Windy City.
Source: USA Today
