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Local and national officials expressed concern on Tuesday that the ongoing partial government shutdown in the United States could adversely affect planning and preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which is just over 100 days away.
In a hearing before the House committee on homeland security, representatives from Miami, Kansas City and New Jersey – three locations that will host a combined total of 21 matches in the tournament, including the final – said they are still waiting on federal funds to be released to their respective local agencies. Last July, lawmakers pledged $625m in federal assistance toward World Cup security via the Trump administration’s “big beautiful” policy bill.
The World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, is expected to draw some five million fans to the US alone. Games aside, large-scale fan festivals and myriad other events are planned in host cities, many of which are dependent in part on federal funding.
“Congress has appropriated $625m for the 11 cities hosting World Cup matches, including my district,” Nellie Pou, a New Jersey representative, said. “With only roughly four months to go, these cities still report they have not received this funding. This is completely unacceptable this close to kickoff. If DHS is going to play a role in this tournament, then DHS needs to be transparent, coordinated, and timely. The World Cup is a global stage. We need to act like we are ready for it. We’re running out of time.”
The current government shutdown, the third in a little over a year, is partial and limited to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees a long list of government agencies tasked with securing the US from threats at home and abroad. They include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the US Coast Guard and the Secret Service.
The agency’s funding expired late last week after lawmakers failed to approve the DHS appropriations bill. Senate Democrats have said they will not approve further funding until the Trump administration places new restrictions on federal immigration enforcement operations after the fatal shootings by ICE agents of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis last month.
ICE seems likely to remain unaffected by the current shutdown, having been extensively funded through Trump’s “big beautiful bill” last summer and deemed an essential service.
Funding has lapsed, however, for Fema, the agency administering the $625m in grants for World Cup assistance. Miami alone applied for $70m in assistance.
“We are quickly approaching [our deadline],” testified Raymond Martinez, the chief operating officer of the Miami host committee. “We are 107 days out from the tournament, but more importantly we are about 70-something days out from starting to build the fan fest. These decisions have to be made, generously, within in the next 30 days. Our local agencies are very anxious. Without receiving this money, it would be catastrophic for our planning and coordination.”
Events surrounding the tournament in other areas of the country have already faced budgetary challenges, with a large-scale fan festival in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park scrapped last week in favor of a series of smaller watch parties.
Martinez was asked by Andrew Garbarino, a New York congressman, whether events are in danger of being cancelled.
“That is correct,” testified Martinez. “We have to start making some really tough decisions, and that starts with our fan festival. Obviously the matches up at the stadium will take place, but preparing for the other impromptu events and all the watch parties we’re expecting to see, that will be in jeopardy.”
Martinez’s concerns were mirrored by Joseph Mabin, deputy chief of the Kansas City (Missouri) police department. Kansas City will host six matches and is projected to welcome around 650,000 visitors over the course of the World Cup. Four national teams, including defending champion Argentina, will use the area as a training base, and the city has plans for an 18-day fan festival.
“It is absolutely critical that we get this funding,” testified Mabin. “The agencies will step up and provide the resources that are needed, but our fear is that decisions will be made on budget instead of threat assessment … The ‘drop dead’ date for this funding is immediate.”
Officials in Foxborough, the Boston suburb that will host games at Gillette Stadium, have not received the nearly $8m they requested in federal funds to cover security costs.
In response, the town – total population 18,000 – has threatened to withhold the entertainment license Fifa needs to host the games at Gillette, which include matches involving England and France and a tournament quarter-final. The $7.8m shortfall amounts to about half of what the town normally spends on public safety in an entire year.
The town has engaged the Krafts, the family who own Gillette Stadium, the NFL’s New England Patriots and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, to cover the shortfall temporarily, though no resolution has been reached.
Town officials have placed a 17 March deadline on finding a solution to the budget issue. After that date, those officials say, the town will not have adequate time to prepare for the seven matches it is expected to host.
