An unauthorized drone was intercepted over South Korea’s closed training session in Guadalajara on June 16, after Mexican National Guard and military personnel jammed its signal and forced it to crash. The Korean Football Association confirmed the incident and has formally reported it to FIFA, citing espionage concerns ahead of their Group A match against Mexico on June 18.
What went down at Verde Valle
South Korea’s national football team was conducting a closed-door training session at the Verde Valle facility in Guadalajara, one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During the session, an unauthorized drone appeared overhead, prompting a swift response from Mexican security forces stationed at the site.
Rather than shooting the drone out of the sky, authorities used signal-jamming equipment to disrupt the device’s communications. The drone subsequently crashed. Two unidentified individuals who had reportedly launched it from a nearby location quickly retrieved the downed device and fled the scene.
The KFA confirmed that despite the disruption, their training preparations were not meaningfully affected. An ongoing investigation has yet to identify the drone’s model, its origin, or the individuals who operated it.
