FBI Reports No Major Security Issues During 2026 World Cup in US

FBI Director Kash Patel has announced that the United States had no major security issues during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He called the tournament the largest sporting event ever and noted it required the biggest security effort from the bureau.

In a post on X shared on Monday, Patel thanked President Donald Trump’s administration, the FBI, and everyone involved at federal, state, and local levels for what he called a successful security operation throughout the month-long tournament.

Patel said, “The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the largest sporting event in the history of the world, shattering previous attendance records by double digits. America- we got it done, ZERO major security incidents across our nation while we hosted the equivalent of 78 super bowls in 38 days, along with 40 base camps, endless fan zones, and celebrations in nearly every state.”

He mentioned, “President Trump promised his administration would deliver the most safe, secure, and fun environment for FIFA. He started by establishing the White House FIFA Task Force some 16 months ago, and we got right to work.”

Patel revealed that the FBI deployed nearly 5,000 personnel from its headquarters, and field and international offices to support security operations across the 16 host cities.

He stated, “This FBI led the charge dedicating nearly 5,000 personnel to the effort out of HQ, field, and international offices, across 16 host cities. And, none of what we accomplished is possible without our federal, state and local partners who all put in the same relentless effort. It’s the largest resource dedication the FBI has EVER made for any event.”

The bureau set up multiple coordination centers to help gather intelligence and share information during the tournament.

Patel explained, “This FBI stood up a Joint Ops Center, International Police Coordination Center, Intelligence Coordination Center, and more, all from scratch- to collect and share intel in real time.”

He also mentioned the FBI’s efforts to deal with drone threats during the tournament.

According to Patel, “We established the first ever counter-UAS drone school, training members of law enforcement from across the country for the World Cup- we seized over 700 drones near FIFA airspace.”

Patel noted that security operations also covered other major events happening at the same time.

He wrote, “Whether it was UFC 250, SAIL 250, State Fair 250 or so many other events happening simultaneously- we DELIVERED the safest and most secure World Cup in history.”

At the end of the post, Patel thanked the president and partner agencies, saying, “President Trump’s leadership set the course, he led the way, and this FBI and our partners rose to the challenge- thanks to all our partners, @FIFA @DHSgov @WHTaskForceFIFA and their Director Andrew Giuliani.”