World Cup security planning faces delays as U.S. Homeland Security shutdown disrupts coordination despite funds being released. Photo: REUTERS/FILE
NEW YORK:
The U.S. government has released all funds allocated for security at the soccer World Cup, but the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has affected planning and coordination, a department official told a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“A lot of the planning efforts underway for the World Cup have been slowed down, have been delayed due to the lapse in appropriations, individuals being furloughed,” Christopher Tomney, director of the DHS Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness, told the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Intelligence briefings reviewed by Reuters last month warned of the potential for extremists and criminals to target the World Cup, with officials working on preparations for the soccer tournament sounding the alarm on a delay in allocation of approved security funds.
Tomney said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has now distributed the $625 million earmarked for security. The 48-team tournament, one of the world’s biggest sporting events, will be held in June and July across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“All the funding has been released now. FEMA GO is up and operational,” he said, referring to the disaster agency’s grants management system.
The DHS shutdown has crossed the two-month mark, with lawmakers in Congress unable to agree on legislation to fund the agency in the wake of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Trump signed an order earlier this month to pay every DHS employee.
When asked how specifically the shutdown has hampered the agency’s ability to organize the event, Tomney pointed to the departure of hundreds of transportation security officers from the Transportation Security Administration.
“We just can’t replace that expertise overnight. It has hindered our coordination with state and locals,” he said.
World Cup transportation costs
With public transit costs for getting to and from World Cup games repeatedly reaching or exceeding $100 each way, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is asking FIFA to help subsidize the expense.
According to The Athletic, train tickets from New York’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will top $100 for World Cup games. The standard fare for that route is $12.90.
“I won’t stick N.J. commuters with that tab for years to come, that’s not fair,” Sherrill posted on X. “FIFA should pay for the rides, but if they don’t, I’m not going to let N.J. commuters be taken for one.”
The official train ticket cost has yet to be announced, but The Athletic reported that Sherrill, the local World Cup host committee and NJ Transit all declined to deny that it would be above $100.
Sherrill tweeted, “We have inherited an agreement in which FIFA doesn’t contribute a single dollar toward transportation for the World Cup. And while NJ Transit is left with a $48 million bill to safely transport 40,000 fans from the stadium to wherever they’re headed, FIFA is generating $11 billion from this World Cup.
“I’m not going to burden New Jersey taxpayers with that bill for years.”
A day earlier, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted, “The World Cup should be as affordable and accessible as possible. Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me.”
A day earlier, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted, “The World Cup should be as affordable and accessible as possible. Charging over $100 for a short train ride sounds awfully high to me.”
The backlash about New York’s transportation pricing comes in the wake of news regarding similar costs in Massachusetts. Train tickets from Boston to Foxborough, Mass., for World Cup games will cost $80, and bus rides will be priced at up to $95.
