US has $500 million drone security plan for 2026 World Cup

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00:00Securing the skies over World Cup stadiums from drone threats is a growing priority for

00:05FIFA and the U.S. government.

00:07The Trump administration is planning to spend half a billion dollars to make sure that happens.

00:15The White House says the money from the Department of Homeland Security's budget will be available

00:19to all 50 states to help mitigate the effects of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS.

00:27But the majority of funds will be focused on the 78 soccer matches that will be played

00:32in American stadiums next summer.

00:34Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House's FIFA World Cup 2026 task force, told Politico

00:41the use of drones over sporting events and other gatherings is a growing problem.

00:46Everybody from the governors to different commissioners of the police in these different cities to the

00:51stadium chief security officer say that this is something they need in order to protect

00:56the World Cup sites, Giuliani said.

00:58Currently, only federal law enforcement agencies can intercept or disable drones.

01:04Lawmakers have introduced several bills to give local agencies that power, but none of

01:08those bills have passed.

01:10The government shutdown has also stalled progress.

01:13The Trump administration is exploring plans to hand that power to state and local officials

01:19for the World Cup and other big events on a temporary basis.

01:24If that happens, police departments and other local agencies could use handheld tools to detect

01:29aircraft and either disable them via jamming technology or order them to return to their

01:35points of origin.

01:36FIFA Chief Safety and Security Officer GB Jones asked the House Homeland Security Committee for

01:43help last month.

01:44DHS, FBI, the FAA, and the state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners who

01:51will partner with them during the FIFA World Cup matches must be equipped with the resources

01:56and legal frameworks necessary to mitigate drone threats across all venues where airspace security

02:02risks are identified.

02:04This includes matches, FIFA fan fests, training sites, and other large outdoor gatherings where drone

02:11threats may compromise safety and security.

02:13The Trump administration continues to work with FIFA on tournament security.

02:18Asked in September what he thought of crime in cities like Seattle and San Francisco, the

02:23president warned that he will move matches away from host cities he deems to be dangerous.

02:29Any city we think is going to be even a little bit dangerous for the World Cup or for the Olympics,

02:34you know, where they have Olympic overthrow, right?

02:37But for the World Cup in particular, because they're playing in so many cities, we won't allow

02:41it to go, we'll move it around a little bit, but I hope that's not going to happen.

02:45Trump's mention of the 2028 Olympics points to its importance more than three years away.

02:50Voviette Morgan, head of safety and security at LA-28, echoed the same message on drones.

02:56The persistent threat of unmanned aircraft systems have surged in recent years to make the detection

03:04and mitigation of drones one of the overarching concerns for any sporting event.

03:10The $500 million in drone security funds from DHS is in addition to the $625 million grant

03:17program that will reimburse World Cup host cities for security costs related to the tournament.

03:23For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.

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