White House task force members attend CFP title game to prepare for the World Cup
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Members of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup attended the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night as part of their preparation for the tournament that is expected to draw millions of tourists to the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.
The task force, created by President Donald Trump, is coordinating the federal government’s security and planning for the tournament, working with agencies that include the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Justice and others.
“We’re fascinated to see what tonight looks like,” Andrew Giuliani, the task force's executive director, told The Associated Press. “I think tonight especially, the reason why I wanted to be here was because soccer fans can be highly emotional. You’re obviously tonight going to get an emotional fan base with the University of Miami being here that is either going to be very happy or not as happy after the end of this. So I’m very interested to see what that looks like ... and how we can learn from this game for the World Cup.
“It’s not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, but it’s probably one of the closest we’re going get between now and the kickoff to the World Cup.”
The World Cup has an expanded field of 48 teams playing 104 matches, and it's the first time the tournament will be played across three countries. Seventy-eight of 104 matches will be played in the U.S., with 13 games each in Mexico and Canada, and as many as six matches a day. The final will be July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami faced Indiana in Monday's CFP title game, will host seven matches, including one between Colombia and Portugal on June 27. Colombia played at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins during the 2024 Copa America, when ticketless fans rushed the gates for a match against Argentina, leaving fans terrified and bloodied as security struggled to contain the crush.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has since said it learned lessons from that incident. There was increased security last summer at the Club World Cup, including added checkpoints that will likely remain in place this year.
“If you don’t have tickets, you shouldn’t be on site here,” Giuliani said. “It’s not like an American football game where there’s tailgating. This is very different. We want to make sure the security resources are here for those ticketed fans. If you’re not ticketed, you have fan festivals. You have other events in the Miami area where you can go and enjoy and be safe.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said the task force will ensure that every visitor who travels from around the world “feels safe, feels happy and feels that we are doing something special.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football