Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, said his mission was simple: \"To make this the greatest sporting event in world history.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The tournament, featuring 48 teams and jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will include 78 matches in the US and more than 100 games across North America.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I think preparations have been fantastic,\" Giuliani said, highlighting security, transportation and visa processing as key areas of focus. He said every World Cup match in the United States would be organised \u201clike a Super Bowl\u201d, with multiple security perimeters, extensive screening, and counter-drone protections.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to Giuliani, all 78 matches in the United States and fan festivals in all 11 host cities will have counter-unmanned aerial systems coverage. He said recent federal legislation and training programmes had enabled state and local law enforcement agencies to support security operations throughout the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Describing the scale of the event, Giuliani said: \u201cThis is unique, completely.\u201d He noted that while a Super Bowl concentrates security and logistics in one city for a week, the World Cup would effectively involve \u201cseventy-eight of those over the course of thirty-nine days.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The White House official also stressed the diplomatic significance of the tournament, which coincides with celebrations marking 250 years of American independence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWhat an incredible opportunity to be able to show off American exceptionalism, the true greatness of the United States of America to the largest platform that you can imagine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Giuliani said the administration had worked closely with Canada and Mexico on issues ranging from security to public health measures. He cited coordination on Ebola-related health restrictions and trilateral cooperation on counter-drone operations as examples of how the three countries had aligned preparations for the event.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On travel and visas, Giuliani said the federal government had undertaken a \u201cwhole of government effort\u201d to facilitate entry for fans while maintaining security standards. He said visa waiting times in major football nations such as Argentina and Brazil had been sharply reduced, and that more than five million electronic travel authorisations had already been processed for visitors from qualifying visa-waiver countries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Addressing concerns about security threats, Giuliani said: \u201cRight now there are no credible threats,\u201d while adding that intelligence agencies continued to monitor potential risks closely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On travel and visas, Giuliani said the federal government had undertaken a \u201cwhole of government effort\u201d to facilitate entry for fans while maintaining security standards. He said visa waiting times in major football nations such as Argentina and Brazil had been sharply reduced, and that more than five million electronic travel authorisations had already been processed for visitors from qualifying visa-waiver countries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked what success would look like when the tournament concludes, Giuliani said the focus should remain on the sport itself. \u201cIf we are encapsulated by the beautiful game on the field, then that\u2019s what success will look like.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n