The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, which means millions of people are now talking about a sport many American cops only loosely understand.
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But even if you don’t follow soccer, the tournament is hard to ignore. It brings together massive crowds, international rivalries, fan zones, protests, transit headaches, cyber concerns and a level of national emotion that can be difficult to appreciate if your sports calendar revolves around football, basketball and baseball.
For police, the World Cup is not just about what happens on the field. It is about everything happening around it.
Whether you’re watching every match or couldn’t name a single player, here’s what cops need to know about the world’s biggest sporting event.
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How big is the World Cup?
Americans often compare the World Cup to the Super Bowl. That comparison doesn’t come close.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest in the tournament’s history, expanding from 32 teams to 48. A total of 104 matches will be played across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The United States is hosting matches in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
And while the tournament is shared among three countries, the biggest matches will ultimately belong to the U.S. Every quarterfinal, semifinal and the championship match will be played on American soil.
The July 19 final is scheduled for MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, placing the global spotlight squarely on the United States as the tournament reaches its climax.
The scale is difficult to comprehend. Billions of people worldwide are expected to follow the tournament. Millions of fans are expected to attend matches and related events. Entire cities are preparing for an influx of visitors unlike anything they typically experience.
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Why is security such a big deal?
Because the World Cup isn’t just a sporting event. It’s a global event.
When public safety officials plan for the tournament, they’re not just thinking about what happens inside a stadium. They’re thinking about airports, transit systems, hotels, entertainment districts, fan festivals, protests, severe weather, cyber threats and countless other variables.
The event’s international profile also makes it attractive to those seeking attention through disruption, whether that means criminal activity, cyberattacks, drone incursions, protests or, in the worst-case scenario, terrorism. The challenge facing host cities is balancing strong security with an environment that still feels welcoming to visitors.
What are police leaders watching right now?
The first days of the World Cup have already highlighted several of the risks that security planners have spent years preparing for.
Before the opening match in Mexico City, clashes between protesters and police outside Azteca Stadium resulted in injuries, arrests and images that quickly spread around the world. The incident served as a reminder that the biggest public safety challenges at major events often occur outside the venue itself.
Meanwhile, cyber and drone threats remain a major concern. An Iran-linked hacking group known as Handala recently claimed it infiltrated FBI drone systems being used as part of World Cup security operations and threatened team transportation assets. The claims have generated significant attention among security officials and underscore the growing role cyber threats play in major-event planning.
Other concerns include:
- Large crowds gathering in fan zones and entertainment districts
- Drone incursions near venues and public events
- Severe weather affecting outdoor gatherings
- Transportation disruptions involving large numbers of visitors
- Protest activity seeking to leverage the tournament’s global audience
- Misinformation and cyber incidents that could create confusion or panic
For police leaders, the lesson is clear: modern event security extends well beyond stadium gates. Crowd management, cybersecurity, intelligence sharing and public communications are increasingly interconnected parts of the same mission.
| WATCH: Dallas PD Lt. Mark Rickerman says FIFA 2026 will test public safety leaders with massive crowds, overlapping command structures, traffic gridlock and plans that must change after kickoff
Are rival fans actually a problem?
If your understanding of international soccer crowds comes from news stories about hooliganism in Europe decades ago, the reality is usually much less dramatic. The overwhelming majority of World Cup supporters travel to celebrate their team, experience another culture and be part of a once-in-a-lifetime event.
That doesn’t mean tensions never arise. National pride runs deep. Some countries have rivalries rooted in decades of competition, politics or history. Add alcohol, emotional matches and massive crowds, and occasional confrontations are inevitable.
Still, public safety planners are often more concerned about crowd density, transportation bottlenecks and post-match celebrations than organized fan violence. A crowd of 50,000 happy fans can create just as many operational challenges as an angry one.
What is a fan zone and why do police care?
Many fans will never step foot inside a stadium. Instead, they’ll gather at fan zones — large public spaces where matches are shown on giant screens. Think of them as a combination of a sports bar, outdoor festival and community celebration.
Fan zones often attract tens of thousands of people and can operate for hours before and after matches.
For police, that means managing many of the same challenges encountered at concerts, festivals and other major events: lost children, intoxicated patrons, medical emergencies, weather evacuations, traffic congestion, fights and crowd-control issues.
In some cities, fan zones may draw more people than the matches themselves. That’s one reason security planners frequently describe the World Cup footprint as being much larger than the stadium.
| WATCH: A special focus of the joint training between Atlanta Police and the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is on desensitizing, or “bomb-proofing” — helping horses adapt to the sensory overload of crowds, both day and night. Learn more.
Why do entire countries seem to shut down during matches?
This may be the hardest thing for Americans to understand.
For many countries, the World Cup isn’t just sports. It’s national identity. People schedule vacations around matches. Businesses adjust hours. Families gather together to watch. Entire communities celebrate wins and agonize over losses.
Imagine if the Super Bowl happened only once every four years and every state fielded its own team. That’s probably the closest comparison most Americans can make.
Understanding that emotional investment helps explain the atmosphere surrounding the tournament and why matches can have such a significant impact on public spaces far from the stadium.
And since everyone keeps talking about it …
A few quick soccer terms you’ll probably hear:
- VAR (Video Assistant Referee): Soccer’s version of replay review. Fans complain about it in every language.
- Stoppage time: Additional time added at the end of each half to account for injuries, substitutions and delays.
- Penalty shootout: The soccer equivalent of deciding a game with a series of pressure-packed free throws. Even people who don’t like soccer tend to find these stressful.
One last thing
Understanding the World Cup means understanding more than a sporting event. It is a global gathering, a massive public safety operation and a live case study in crowd management, event security and public communication.
And if someone starts arguing about VAR during your next shift briefing, at least you’ll know what they’re talking about.
Police1 is using generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors.
