The FBI says it pulled off the biggest security operation ever mounted for a sporting event, helping protect nearly 7 million fans during the 2026 FIFA World Cup while taking down more than 700 drones that entered restricted airspace.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News the bureau committed an unprecedented level of manpower to secure the tournament, which featured 78 matches across 11 U.S. cities.
“That’s what we executed on,” Patel said, comparing the challenge to securing “Seventy-eight Super Bowls in 38 days.”
“We’re proud to report that, thank God, and thankfully to the men and women of the FBI and our partners, we had no significant criminal attacks during this World Cup,” Patel said. “And just to put that in perspective, we had 6.5 million people attend the 78 matches in the U.S. across 11 venues.”
Patel said the operation required “mathematically precise” planning.
The tournament shattered previous attendance records, drawing millions of international visitors. The FBI assigned nearly 5,000 personnel to the effort, including more than 4,000 agents and staff from field offices, 800 employees from FBI headquarters, two legal attaché offices, and support from 59 Homeland Security task forces.
The bureau also completed roughly 300,000 background checks on players, coaches, and accredited personnel. Across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, nearly 7 million fans attended World Cup matches without any reported major security incidents. Fans also moved through stadium security quickly, with entry times often taking less than 15 minutes for games averaging more than 65,000 spectators.
One of the biggest threats involves unauthorized drones.
Officials said even inexpensive unmanned aircraft could be used to monitor team practices, follow players between hotels and stadiums, scout security operations, or carry explosives or chemical agents. The FBI treated every unauthorized drone as a potential danger.
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“If you’re in the space, we’re gonna take you down. And that’s why we took down over 700,” Patel said. “Some of these folks were maybe borderline nuisances, while many of them were criminal in terms of violations of FAA airspace and also failing to register their drones… We’re not taking any chances.”
The FBI established its first dedicated counter-drone training school at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, where state and local officers learned how to detect, track, and intercept unauthorized aircraft. Those officers later joined FBI-led teams stationed at World Cup venues around the country.
“We, the FBI, specifically train for the worst of the worst,” Patel said, citing the possibility of drones being used to deploy explosives or chemical agents.
Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino also played a key role in developing the bureau’s counter-drone program.
Patel said that preparation paid off when investigators uncovered an alleged plot targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House as the World Cup was getting underway.
Federal prosecutors allege the suspects planned to use explosive-laden drones to create panic and funnel crowds into areas where armed attackers would strike. Patel said the FBI launched a six-state operation after tracking the alleged threat through online communications.
The bureau carried out a coordinated takedown “before the first punch was thrown,” Patel said, allowing the event to proceed without an attack.
Eight defendants have been charged. The allegations remain unproven, and all defendants are presumed innocent.
International intelligence sharing also played a major role in securing the tournament.
“They’re working overseas in their home locations and giving us information back in real time on any single threat that’s coming in,” Patel said.
The FBI operated an International Police Cooperation Center in Northern Virginia, where more than 70 personnel worked alongside law enforcement officials from U.S. host cities and countries participating in the tournament.
The bureau also created a Joint Operations Center that included foreign police representatives from 46 of the 48 participating nations. Officials shared real-time intelligence while the FBI’s Intelligence Coordination Center processed an average of 26 incidents each day and produced nearly 100 intelligence reports for government agencies and private-sector partners.
Patel credited President Donald Trump’s White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup with bringing together federal, state, and local agencies under one coordinated security strategy.
The task force, led by Andrew Giuliani’s team, coordinated intelligence sharing, planning, and law enforcement resources across the tournament’s 11 U.S. host cities.
“Like anything in government, to succeed, you need tremendous leadership,” Patel said. “President Trump had the foresight to establish the White House Task Force… and what they were able to do was bring in the interagency, at least at the federal level, and then work with us at the state and local levels through our partnerships and put everybody under one roof.”
Patel said that the unified command structure allowed the FBI to rapidly deploy bomb technicians, evidence teams, tactical operators, SWAT officers, and hostage rescue personnel wherever they were needed.
“President Trump set the standard: Not only were we going to have the largest and safest sporting event in the history of the world, but we were going to make sure everyone had a great time. Those were the marching orders,” Patel said.
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