WASHINGTON — Foreign ticketholders to 2026 World Cup events in the United States can request expedited visa interviews, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday. He said his department has added 400 staff at consulates around the world to enable visa appointments within 60 days.
“Our advice to everybody is, if you have a ticket for any of the games, you need to apply as soon as possible,” Rubio said at a White House event with President Donald Trump, FIFA President Giovanni Infantino, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other members of the White House task force on next year’s World Cup games.
“Your ticket is not a visa. It doesn’t guarantee admission to the U.S. It guarantees you an expedited appointment,” Rubio said, adding that World Cup visa applicants will be vetted the same as usual.
Called FIFA Pass, the visa system is a prioritized appointment scheduling process for the 7 million ticket holders and up to 10 million people who are expected to travel to North America next year for the games, Infantino said. Nearly 2 million tickets have already been sold, he added.
So far, 32 teams have qualified for the games out of 48 total. On Dec. 6, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, will host its draw for the 2026 World Cup at the Kennedy Center to determine which teams play one another and where.
“This will be the biggest sporting event we’ve ever had,” Trump said during the Oval Office event. “Each game is almost a Super Bowl.”
In what is expected to be the largest sporting event in world history — due its expanded field of teams and 16 host cities — 104 soccer matches will take place over the span of about five weeks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The games will take place from June 11 through July 19 in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada; Guadalajara, Monterrey City and Mexico City, Mexico; and Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco in the U.S.
Trump said he would ask Infantino to consider moving World Cup matches to different cities if “there’s the sign of any trouble.” He specifically cited Seattle and Los Angeles, both of which have Democratic mayors and state governors.
“The governors are going to have to behave,” Trump said. “The mayors are going to have to behave.
“I love Los Angeles. If they want help during this, I would love to send in National Guard to help them,” the president added.
The state of California sued the Trump administration over the summer for sending National Guard troops to help quell protests against immigration enforcement when the governor did not request assistance.
“If they would tell us now, they’re not going to have a problem,” Trump said. “If we go in, there’s not going to be a problem. If they want us to go in, I’d like them to tell us right now.”
Noem said during the event that her department is providing $600 million in grants to the World Cup’s 11 U.S. host cities to partner on screening and drone technologies to keep the games safe.
“We are communicating with all these mayors about what their responsibilities are,” Noem said. “The safety and security of these events is No. 1.”
