Bo Tefu | California Black Media
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to begin this week, California officials say they are ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the globe as the state prepares to host 14 matches. That’s more than any other state in the nation.
During a June 5 media briefing, leaders from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Transportation, the California National Guard, local law enforcement agencies, and federal partners outlined extensive preparations already underway to ensure the tournament is safe, secure and seamless.
California will host eight matches in the Los Angeles region and six in the San Francisco Bay Area, including knockout-round contests and the U.S. Men’s National Team’s opening match in Los Angeles.
Caroline Thomas Jacobs, Director of Cal OES, said the state is taking a “whole-of-government” approach to hosting the World Cup and ensuring safety and security.
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world to California, showcasing our communities, our culture and our economy on a global stage,” said Thomas Jacobs. “It requires an extraordinary level of coordination to help ensure everyone can safely enjoy the matches, the fan events, and celebrations that come with the World Cup. Public safety is always our top priority.”
State officials said planning efforts have been underway for more than a year and involve coordination among federal, state, local, tribal and private-sector partners. The preparations include public safety operations, transportation planning, cybersecurity protections, emergency response coordination, intelligence sharing and public information campaigns.
The World Cup, which runs from June 11 through July 19, is the largest in FIFA history, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico. California’s 14 matches will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
The state is drawing on lessons learned from previous large-scale events, including Super Bowl LX, which was held in the Bay Area earlier this year.
Officials say many of the same planning frameworks used for the Super Bowl are now being expanded for the World Cup, including real-time intelligence sharing, coordinated emergency response teams, advanced traffic management and transportation operations.
Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol Sean Duryee said, “What an honor. It’s going to be historic. The work has been done, and the foundation has been laid. We are ready. We’re ready to host some historic games.”
Duryee said law enforcement, first responders and emergency managers have done the work to lay out operational plans, transportation plans and contingency plans at the state, county, regional and local levels “in case something goes awry.”
The World Cup is also expected to serve as a major test run for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover recently said organizers will closely study the World Cup’s transportation, security and crowd-management operations as preparations continue for the Olympics.
“What makes the World Cup different from a typical event is the scale duration and complexity of this event. This is not a one-day operation. This is a month-long international event involving multiple host cities, fan festivals, airports, transportation systems, hotels, critical infrastructure and millions of people moving throughout California every day.”
