The terrorist threat to the 2026 FIFA World Cup

In this summer’s World Cup tournament, 48 teams will play 104 matches across 16 host cities over 39 days, with the United States hosting 78 games and Canada and Mexico 13 each. For millions of spectators attending the games and billions of fans watching around the world, this is a nail-biting saga of triumph and loss playing out on a global stage.

That stage draws terrorists. Major sporting events have long attracted jihadists, ethnonationalist chauvinists, malign states, and a range of domestic extremists looking to exploit global attention to advance a cause, force their grievances onto the world’s agenda, or simply sow death and destruction.

For counterterrorism officials with experience securing large-scale, single-day, and single-location events, protecting the World Cup poses a particularly difficult challenge. Protection for the World Cup must stretch out across the country­—even the continent—and be sustained over many weeks. In addition, potential targets are numerous and varied. Although police and security officers can control access to key venues (e.g., searching match attendees before they enter the stadium), there will be crowds everywhere: gathering in front of the stadium to queue for security, riding in public transportation to and from the game, and coming together with their fellow fans in and around hotels, bars, and restaurants. Security everywhere is impossible, and that reality creates many potential soft targets.

Read more at Center for Strategic and International Studies