In just a few days, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off, setting a new benchmark for global sporting events. The biggest World Cup in history spans three countries – the United States, Canada, and Mexico – across 16 host cities, expanding the playing field to 48 teams and 104 matches.
The scale is unprecedented. And so is the security challenge.
For organizations sending executives, corporate guests, or employees to the tournament, navigating this footprint requires the understanding of a stark divide. The stadiums themselves will operate as fortresses, protected by intense, multi-layered security cordons that will limit risk exposure. Instead, the greatest threats lie outside the gates within a sprawling, interconnected “soft ecosystem”.
“The bigger exposure is often in the surrounding environment – city centers, transport routes, fan movement, demonstrations, and the places where large numbers of people gather outside formal security perimeters,” says Oliver Bacchus, global intelligence analyst at Securitas.
Because these soft targets lack the rigid perimeters and heavy security presence of a stadium, they are much more vulnerable to disruption. Here are the three security threats and risks shaping the 2026 FIFA World Cup – and what they mean for you.
Geopolitical spillover on the global stage
The 2026 tournament arrives amid a highly complex and rapidly evolving global geopolitical landscape. Compounding this tension, each of the three host nations faces its own unique domestic challenges. For activists, political factions, and special-interest groups, a mega-event like this presents an unparalleled platform to amplify grievances to a global audience.
“Major sporting events can become a platform for issues that aren’t about the sport itself. The risk is often less about opposition to the tournament and more about using its visibility, crowds, and global audience to maximize the impact of a message,” continues Bacchus.
History shows how consistently major sporting stages are used as a platform for action. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, members of a feminist protest music group successfully invaded the pitch during the final match in Moscow, demanding the release of political prisoners. More recently, ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, 80 grassroots organizations staged a massive counter-opening ceremony demonstration in Paris to draw international attention to the games' effect on local populations.
The potential for sudden disruption is further heightened by overlapping high-profile events. Pride celebrations will coincide with heavy tournament traffic throughout the month of June and the historic 250-year anniversary of US independence on July 4 introduces a massive wave of national celebrations that could act as a lightning rod for anti-war or anti-government demonstrations.
Crime, crowd volatility, and extremist threats
Because match venues feature rigid access controls and fortified perimeters, criminal activity and localized disruptions will naturally shift to the path of least resistance. For organizations, the wider security environment outside stadiums is spread across three key areas: opportunistic crime, crowd volatility, and the threat posed by extremist actors.
With millions of international visitors moving through 16 host cities, high-congestion transit hubs, fan zones, and entertainment districts will see a predictable surge in petty and opportunistic crime. Pickpocketing, luggage theft, and targeted financial scams are common risks in crowded environments, particularly for travellers navigating unfamiliar cities.
Hooliganism and post-match volatility present a second, more aggressive risk. Rivalries, excessive alcohol consumption, and emotionally charged match outcomes can quickly transform celebratory crowds into flashpoints for street violence, vandalism, and clashes with law enforcement. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, for example, Morocco’s victory over Belgium triggered severe unrest and vandalism in Brussels, with crowds clashing with police and authorities deploying tear gas and water cannons to regain control.
Terrorism remains a lower-probability but high-impact risk. Major sporting events have historically been attractive targets for extremist actors because of their dense crowds, high-profile attendees, and global visibility. Incidents such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the attempted attacks outside the Stade de France during the coordinated Paris attacks in 2015 show how public gatherings can be exploited to maximise visibility and disruption.
A split cyber landscape
The 2026 FIFA World Cup relies on a vast digital ecosystem managing everything from ticketing and payments to travel, accommodation, communications, and transport. This creates two distinct cyber risk layers: one targeting individuals, another targeting the infrastructure that enables the tournament to function.
For individuals, the most immediate threat is likely to come from cyber criminals exploiting tournament demand. More than 4,000 fake domains relating to the World Cup were registered between August and September last year alone. This, along with phishing emails, QR code scams, counterfeit merchandise offers, and fraudulent accommodation links are all likely to surge ahead of and during the tournament. Risks aren’t limited to financial loss, with stolen credentials, business email exposure, or compromised devices with the potential to create pathways into wider corporate networks.
The second layer is more systematic. Previous major sporting events have seen cyberattacks target government entities, transport providers, telecommunications networks, and customer databases. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, French authorities confirmed over 140 cyber-attacks, while the 2024 European Championship saw hackers steal and leak the details of 15,000 customers. Ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, a telecommunications provider broadcasting matches was breached by a China-linked threat actor, creating the potential to disrupt communications and streaming services.
Now, this risk is amplified by the pressure on the infrastructure supporting the tournament, explains Bacchus:
“With millions of fans and visitors moving between host cities and across borders, the 2026 World Cup places huge pressure on transport, power, digital systems, and other critical infrastructure. In that environment, even a relatively small issue – whether it’s a cyber incident, equipment failure, power disruption, or transport delay – can have a much wider impact than it would on a normal day.”
Moving from reactive to proactive
For organizations sending executives, employees, or corporate guests to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ensuring a safe and seamless experience means recognizing risk is dynamic, with the ability to shift quickly between cities, transport routes, fan zones, hotels, airports, border crossings, and digital platforms. As such, focus should be on the following areas:
1. Building real-time situational awareness
Organizations cannot rely solely on local news or reactive decision making. Conditions around the tournament can change by the hour, from protests and traffic disruption to crowd volatility. Real-time, location-based intelligence helps organizations understand what is happening around their people before they are directly affected, allowing travellers to avoid disruption rather than respond once they are already caught in it.
2. Securing the full travel lifecycle
Duty of care should extend beyond stadiums and official venues to every stage of the journey, including airport arrivals, client events, and late-night movements through unfamiliar cities. Organizations should review executive protection, secure transportation, and business continuity plans, while travellers should avoid demonstrations, use trusted transport providers, and limit visible signs of wealth.
3. Strengthening digital resilience
Travellers should be cautious of phishing emails, QR code scams, and fraudulent links. They should also use a trusted VPN when connecting to public or hotel Wi-Fi, particularly when accessing work systems or handling sensitive information. Organizations should also review cyber response protocols, secure communication channels, and third-party dependencies.
“The organizations best prepared for the World Cup will be those that combine intelligence, planning, communication, and agility. In a tournament of this scale, the goal is to not only respond to disruption, but to anticipate it early enough to protect people, operations, and reputations,” concludes Bacchus.
Intelligence that moves at the speed of the event
This is exactly the role of Securitas Risk Intelligence. Through continuous monitoring and analyst-led assessment, Securitas Risk Intelligence helps organizations understand how global events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup reshape the risk landscape - across cities, borders, digital systems and daily movement.
By turning complex signals into clear actionable insight, Securitas Risk Intelligence enables organizations to protect people, operations and reputations before disruption escalates.
Learn how Securitas secures major events at scale
While many of the biggest risks around the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be outside stadium gates, the security operation inside major venues remains a critical part of the picture.
To explore what it takes to secure large-scale stadium events, Securitas USA recently hosted a fireside chat with Shaun Oliver, VP of operations at Sports Illustrated Stadium; Tommy Zarna, president, mobile division at Securitas; Miguel Martinez, VP at Pinkerton. Together, they discuss how stadium security is shifting from presence alone to an amalgamation of intelligence, coordination, and speed to action.
