A thousand marches were monitored and hundreds were neutralized… a danger from the sky threatening the World Cup sports

More than a thousand drones were detected, more than 300 of which were neutralized from the headquarters of the International Police Cooperation Center, which is under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), near Washington, according to what Andrew Giuliani, who is in charge of the 2026 World Cup file in the White House, announced, as the tournament reached its halfway point, Monday.

According to statistics as of Sunday, “1,139 drones have been spotted so far around the World Cup sites, including more than 300 that were neutralized,” without resorting to force, according to what Giuliani, who heads the White House team charged with organizing the tournament held mainly in the United States, explained.

Doug Olson, the senior FBI official charged with coordinating the 2026 World Cup, explained that the federal police “confiscated more than 500 of these drones” for investigation purposes.

The United States has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to combat drones, placing this file at the heart of its efforts to ensure the security of the World Cup, which it is organizing jointly with its neighbors Mexico and Canada.

The powers of local authorities to jam and intercept these devices were expanded, and dozens of local police officers in the 11 host American cities received special training from the FBI.

In mid-June, the office announced that it had thwarted an attack plan that was targeting an evening of mixed martial arts fights held at the White House on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the birth of Donald Trump, and was based on launching drones loaded with explosives around the place.

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the French authorities monitored more than 350 hacking incidents using drones, leading to 81 arrests, according to a report by the National Assembly.

300 reports per day

When asked about the threats surrounding this record-breaking tournament in terms of size, the FBI official merely pointed to a recent day that “saw more than 300 reports” regarding “various types of threats,” ranging from fans who might bring smoke flares to “human trafficking” and “terrorism.”

However, he added: “On the fans’ side, we did not witness anything out of the ordinary for a sporting event of this size.”

Andrew Giuliani confirmed: “Not a single incident in the stadiums, not a single incident in the fan zones. What we are talking about is the game.”

Of the 48 qualifying countries, 46 were invited to send elements to this center for international police cooperation, a model that is being re-adopted from one tournament to another, with only two exceptions: Iran, due to its dispute with the United States, and Haiti.

In practice, they meet in a large conference hall inside a center, around tables that are reorganized from one match to another throughout the course of the tournament, so that each one includes representatives of the two opposing countries in addition to representatives of the host city.

For example, France sent two members of its unit specialized in combating football-related hooliganism.