Representatives with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the agency is actively working with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and private-sector partners to ensure America is ready for the FIFA World Cup 2026 events.
FEMA officials said they had been working with partners for more than a year to prepare for the soccer tournament, and are continuing to deliver training and exercise support to various government agencies in preparation. To date, FEMA has coordinated training for more than 238,000 local emergency managers and first responders in host cities that focus on special event safety and security.
“The federal government is fully prepared to make this tournament a success, but we couldn’t do it without the expertise, experience and resources of our private industry partners, and state and local government partners,” Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said. “This is a great example of what we can achieve when industry and every level of government plans and works together.”
The agency said it has invested nearly $900 million to FIFA World Cup host cities to help protect residents and visitors, including $625 million from the FIFA World Cup Grant Program to help strengthen security for the matches, and $250 million through the Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems to help hos cities and the National Capital Region protect against dangerous drones.
“This will be the largest sporting event in the world, and we need our private sector and state and local partners every step of the way, from the planning stages which began over a year ago to after the final match in New Jersey on July 19,” said Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force. “This is an opportunity to show the world what the United States can achieve during our nation’s 250th birthday.”