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The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday when Mexico faces South Africa in Mexico City. The final is July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In between there are 39 days, 104 matches, 11 U.S. cities that need to be protected.Protecting the fans, players and officials during the World Cup will be a security operation unlike anything this country has tried before.More than 400 law enforcement agencies are working with the federal government and private security firms to protect stadiums, fan festivals, team base camps and hotels across 11 U.S. cities. Andrew Guiliani, executive director of the White House FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force, has called the scope simply unprecedented.FEMA awarded $625 million to all 11 U.S. cities to fund operational exercises, staff background checks, cybersecurity defenses and beefed-up police and emergency response at venues, hotels and transportation hubs. An additional $250 million went to host states specifically for counter-drone technology, pushing total federal investment past $1 billion.The White House assembled a task force spanning Homeland Security, State, Defense, Transportation and Justice to coordinate the effort.What fans will see at stadiumsThe 2024 Copa America final in Miami is the cautionary tale. Fans without tickets rushed the gates and caused a crush and sent multiple people to the hospital. FIFA responded by creating a “Last mile” security perimeter around each stadium. Many parking lots will be fenced off, and fans must show their tickets before getting anywhere near the stadium gates.Inside, expect airport-style screening: metal detectors, clear bag policies and prohibited items including large backpacks. Fans are advised to arrive 90 to 120 minutes early to clear security without issue.Hyundai and Boston Dynamics have deployed four robotic dogs, all named Spot, to support perimeter security at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and MetLife Stadium, using cameras to detect suspicious packages and potential hazards.The drone threatFBI officials say an unauthorized drone scenario worries them the most. It’s not a hypothetical. French officials detected more than 400 unauthorized drone incursions during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Last November, an alleged white supremacist in Nashville told undercover federal agents he planned to attack a power grid using a drone loaded with C-4 explosives. In March, the FBI warned California law enforcement of potential Iranian drone attack plot.State and local agencies recently got new authority to jam and intercept drones under the Safer Skies Act, part of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act. Officers from 30 jurisdictions, covering all U.S. host regions trained at the FBI’s facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The World Cup will be the first real test.The cyberattack threatGiuliani has said he is anticipating cyberattacks on FIFA-related systems, including ticket hacks, compromised QR codes, attempts to take over stadium Jumbotrons and transportation networks. A joint federal advisory in April warned of an ongoing Iranian-affiliated cybersecurity threat to critical infrastructure.The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are operating at roughly two-thirds of its staffing compared to previous administrations. Security experts say the country was already in a vulnerable position before the tournament began.The biggest fear: soft targetsFBI officials say their greatest concern is not a large, coordinated attack, but a homegrown extremist acting alone. An incident like the man who drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day in an ISIS-inspired attack. Those are among the hardest to detect and stop.Stadiums can be hardened against threats. Fan zones, team hotels, restaurants and transit stations cannot. Security experts say smaller host-adjacent cities, the ones where teams have set up base camps, are the real gap. They are not part of the big-event budget handouts. Transportation is also a known target: anarchists hit Italy’s rail network on opening day of the Milan Cortina Olympics in February; arsonists torched France’s high-speed rail hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony in 2024.The ICE questionThe most politically charged element of World Cup security is the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE officers would be present throughout the tournament targeting human trafficking, counterfeit tickets and drug smuggling, and did not rule out immigration arrests.Local policeThe burden of protection will fall heavily on local police departments that have seen significant staffing losses since 2020. Philadelphia has more than 1,000 officer vacancies and expects all-hands-on-deck on match days, with mandatory overtime across the tournament’s 39 days.Atlanta will deploy more than 200 extra officers on match days of 12-hour shifts with no vacation.Giuliani has said his definition of success is simple: if the conversation on July 20 is about soccer, the job is done.
