With semifinals between France and Spain and Argentina and England, and the World Cup final set for the weekend, the United States strengthened the security deployed at the tournament venues. The arrangement, involving federal, state and local forces, was discussed on Infobae al Mediodía by specialist Andrei Serbin Pont, who described how an architecture is designed to minimize risks inside and outside the stadiums.
Using the operation implemented in Kansas during recent matches there as an example, Serbin Pont said the deployment reflects the logic applied at all venues. “The security operation will have at least 1,600 agents positioned in the area,” he explained, adding that the aim is not only to guard the stadiums but also to protect hotels, delegations, fan fests and other public gathering points.
A security architecture that goes far beyond the stadiums
According to the specialist, the operation begins well before fans enter the stadium. “Hotels have a perimeter area to protect them from any drone activity nearby. A drone is not necessarily a lethal threat, but it raises issues of privacy, protection and operational security,” he said.
The plan also includes escorted convoys for team transfers and screens installed to obstruct views of the areas where squads are located. “The United States will deploy perimeters around hotels and protect them with various measures, including screens that try to obscure visibility of the areas where the two teams are stationed,” he explained.
Serbin Pont also noted that one of the main investments for the World Cup was the incorporation of anti-drone systems and stressed that the operation extends well beyond the stadium perimeter. “This applies not only around hotels or stadiums. It also applies to fan fests, which have designated drone perimeters and their own security arrangements with rapid reaction forces,” he said.
More than 400 agencies coordinated and a response prepared for any scenario
The analyst emphasized that the scale of the operation lies in coordination among agencies with very different functions. “There are 400 agencies in total coordinating. That is why we are talking about an investment of approximately one billion dollars,” he said.
The plan brings together local and state police with federal agencies such as the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and specialized units from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He explained that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tactical groups were added to increase capacity to respond to highly complex situations.
“They need to have as many resources and personnel available as possible in case of an emergency,” he said. Among the scenarios considered is the possibility of an active shooter, which he noted “is probably one of the situations that has caused the most concern during this World Cup.” To address that hypothesis, he added, “the idea is to have multiple rapid-response teams that can react immediately.”
Snipers, deterrence and constant surveillance
The security arrangement also includes snipers positioned strategically around stadiums, a common practice at major sporting events in the United States.
“Sniper nests are already standard. Most stadiums have designated spaces so they can monitor the stands and the field,” Serbin Pont explained. He said these teams operate in pairs—shooter and spotter—while others remain concealed to expand surveillance capability.
He also offered a remark that summarizes the operation’s logic: “The sniper they find is often the one they want you to think you find.” For the specialist, visible elements of the deployment serve a preventative purpose. “In this kind of situation, presence contributes to deterrence,” he said, noting that most personnel work clearly identified for that reason.
The challenge of managing mixed crowds and preventing incidents
Beyond extraordinary threats, Serbin Pont warned that a key challenge is the coexistence of supporters of different teams within the same stadium. Unlike in some other countries, in the United States there is no strict physical separation between rival fan sections.
“You can have several hotspots and they are hard to control precisely because they are multiple. You don’t need a large group of violent people: a few individuals can create tense situations,” he explained.
He said the increase in the number of agents also responds to that reality. “The rise in personnel assigned to event security, I think, seeks to ensure enough human resources to handle a tense incident or something larger,” he added.
During the program, journalist Flavia Pittella also described the level of control observed in the stands. She said security staff monitored spectator behavior in each section and that any flag was inspected before being allowed in. In that context, Serbin Pont confirmed that the ban on flags referencing the Falkland Islands was reinforced for the Argentina–England match and recalled that the measure had been ratified by the Minister of Security.
An operation designed to minimize the margin of error
Although he acknowledged that the main alerts linked to potential terrorist attacks have declined as the tournament progressed, Serbin Pont said U.S. authorities are maintaining the same level of readiness because the goal is to minimize any possibility of an incident.
“I don’t think we’re in a state of heightened alert. But when you host an event like this you want to make sure from every angle that there is no margin for error,” he said. For that reason, he explained, during decisive matches it is reasonable to expect a greater police presence, private security personnel and tactical units deployed around stadiums and fan areas.
The specialist also recalled that the preventive plan began even before the competition started. “Before the World Cup began there was already a list of 33,000 people who would not be allowed into any of the stadiums,” he said. For Serbin Pont, that prior planning, combined with the coordination of hundreds of agencies and intensive use of technology, explains why the United States has mounted one of the most ambitious protection operations ever organized for a World Cup.
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