Security concerns grow around World Cup in US after stalled funding

Mar 21, 2026 Sports

(Reuters) – Intelligence briefings reviewed by Reuters have warned of the potential for extremists and criminals to target the World Cup at a time when hundreds of millions of dollars of approved security funds have been delayed, causing U.S. preparations to fall behind.

The soccer World Cup will be held in June and July this year across three countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The previously unreported briefings from U.S. federal and state officials and FIFA, the international federation overseeing the World Cup, outlined the risk of extremist attacks, including attacks on transportation infrastructure and civil unrest related to Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The soccer World Cup, one of the globe’s biggest sporting events, will be held in June and July this year across three countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico.

While security at such events is always intense, U.S. law enforcement officials have been on especially heightened alert since the start of the war on Iran and have raised concerns over retaliatory threats.

Officials working to prepare for the World Cup in the United States have increasingly sounded alarms in recent weeks over a stalled $625 million in federal security grants for the event that were part of a Republican-backed spending bill passed in July 2025.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, tasked with distributing the money, said in November that it was expecting to allocate the funds no later than January 30.

Following inquiries by Reuters this month after officials and organizers complained that they had still received nothing, FEMA announced on Wednesday that it had awarded the grants, ⁠saying the money would “bolster security preparations.”

With the first matches kicking off in Mexico on June 11 and then the U.S. and Canada the next day, states and cities hosting the events are deep into planning, including how to safeguard from possible attacks. The delayed funding and threat warnings have compounded an already complex process, multiple officials involved told Reuters.

The grant money distribution process normally takes months, and efforts to buy technology and equipment can take even longer, according to Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, which represents a network of 80 information centers across the U.S. that facilitate federal, state and local intelligence sharing.

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