As the United States cohosts the World Cup and marks America250, cities hosting matches have expanded surveillance and counter-drone systems. The Fourth of July and the July 19 World Cup final have both been designated National Special Security Events by the D
The lights will be bright, the chants will be louder than the speakers, and most people will be focused on the match.
But from Kansas City to New York. the cities hosting the World Cup have been tightening security in the months leading up to kickoff—using tools that don’t always look like security at all. The same can be said for America250. including the Fourth of July events in Washington. DC. where law enforcement is promising an unprecedented level of surveillance.
The Department of Homeland Security has designated both the Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall and the July 19th World Cup final in New Jersey as National Special Security Events (NSSE). The NSSE is the most stringent security designation the agency gives. The designation is not new for major sporting events—Super Bowl security has always carried an NSSE designation—but it is a first for the Fourth of July.
This summer’s security posture has also included NSSE coverage for an earlier UFC event at the White House in June, and the official UFC watch party on the Ellipse.
At the National Mall, attendees will have to pass through airport-style security checkpoints. They won’t be allowed to bring folding chairs or coolers. Counter-drone measures are planned, along with bomb technicians, countersnipers, and medical personnel from several federal agencies. The visible steps are only part of the story, though. Other measures could be “close to invisible,” including camera networks that track biometrics.
Law enforcement officials have framed the posture as risk-proofing for once-in-a-lifetime events. Privacy advocates see it differently, warning that some of the increased surveillance may not stay confined to this summer.
The escalation on the National Mall also appears tied to criticisms that followed the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where a gunman allegedly infiltrated the event and shot at a Secret Service agent.
There will be similar security for the World Cup final. Donald Trump is expected to attend the July 19 match, and he will reportedly present the trophy to the winning team. Yet the security buildout isn’t being sold as dependent on the president’s presence.
Jules Boykoff, author of Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the FIFA Greed Machine, said, “This is going to be security-o-rama regardless of whether the president goes.” If the president goes, Boykoff added, it would simply be “an extra lacquering of security.”
Boykoff, a professor of political science at Pacific University, said there may also be an increased ICE presence at the World Cup final. He pointed to ICE arresting rapper 21 Savage at the 2019 Super Bowl—an NSSE—where the arrest was tied to a claim that he overstayed his visa.
Anne Toomey McKenna. an attorney who specializes in privacy and biometric surveillance. said the NSSE declaration may also make it easier to justify collecting communications data under the “looser standard” of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. instead of the more stringent requirements of the Wiretap Act.
Andrew Giuliani. executive director of the White House task force for the World Cup—and the son of Rudy Giuliani—said security would be heightened at all matches. even those Trump doesn’t attend. “You’ll have multiple perimeter checks from security. You’ll have checks while you get onto public transportation to make sure you’re a valid ticket holder. ” Giuliani told the Atlantic Council’s Frederick Kempe. He also warned that soccer fans often arrive late. Ticket holders. Giuliani said. should know that gates open three hours before kickoff so they can plan to arrive early and not miss the start.
The surveillance effort isn’t limited to stand-alone events, either. Through FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security gave $250 million in grants to states hosting World Cup matches. Much of that funding was used to buy counter-drone equipment, according to The New York Times. The FBI has also been training local law enforcement agencies on drone mitigation.
Giuliani said the Fan Fests in all 11 host cities will be covered by counter-drone technology, though it’s unclear whether those cities are using the same systems that led to an airspace closure in El Paso earlier this year.
Across the host cities, spending and enforcement vary. New York City spent $6.5 million on counter-drone technology. In Kansas City, Missouri, authorities have confiscated at least 16 drones since the World Cup began.
A key reason this matters, according to Boykoff, is that mega-events can shift authorities into a different mode. “The general rule with the World Cup and Olympics is that local and national police forces use the sports mega event like their own private cash machine. ” Boykoff said. “The World Cup creates a state of exception that allows for all manner of securitization processes.” In his view. once these tools are in place. they often remain.
He cited Paris as an example. Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Paris enabled AI video surveillance and is keeping it in place through the end of 2027 despite privacy concerns.
Similar camera systems have been installed throughout the U.S., including outside stadiums. Kansas City, for example, planned to put cameras equipped with facial recognition on some city buses. The state government refused to fund the project over privacy concerns. but city leaders said they moved ahead anyway—arguing the system would help identify missing persons and could thwart human trafficking attempts during a major international sporting event.
Kansas City officials said the images would be checked against active missing persons alerts and only retained if there’s a match. Tyler Means. chief mobility and strategy officer at Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. told The Washington Post. “We’ve always had cameras on our buses. It’s just new technology. I think in time it’ll smooth over and people will realize, ‘Well, it didn’t really feel any different.’”.
The cameras aren’t operational yet because of backlash and technical delays. Kansas City plans to implement the program later this year, even though the World Cup will be over by then.
As for the people in charge of watching. the America250 celebrations will involve thousands of law enforcement officers. including National Guard troops and FBI agents. many wearing body cameras. Several cities have expanded or reactivated CCTV systems ahead of the World Cup. Seattle reportedly reactivated dormant cameras after FBI and Seattle Police Department officials briefed the mayor on “credible threats” during the games.
McKenna said that the growth in surveillance during these events may not be unwarranted given the level of risk. The problem, she said, is how biometric data is gathered and retained. She pointed out that British Columbia. which is also hosting the World Cup. has regulations around how long surveillance footage from matches and other events can be retained—rules the U.S. lacks.
CCTV has existed for decades. McKenna said. and early video feeds may have mostly shown what people could already see from public spaces. That’s the foundation the U.S. legal system relied on. she argued: because cameras operate in public. there’s no “reasonable expectation of privacy risk” under the Fourth Amendment. which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.
But technology has pushed those systems much further than old cameras. Cameras can tilt, pan, and zoom, and can often see several miles away. Some can be fitted with thermal imaging devices and facial recognition technology—features that law enforcement may access. McKenna said some AI software can also analyze facial expressions and claim to predict behavior.
“We have increasingly advancing AI systems with analytical capabilities that can merge so much data and detect things from the footage that before we wouldn’t know. ” McKenna said. “An officer on the street wouldn’t be able to identify every person walking by. but facial recognition technology software is very common. and it can be utilized together with the footage that is being taken and collected by CCTV systems.”.
That footage and data don’t necessarily stay local. McKenna explained that the information can be sent to federal fusion centers. where information is shared between local law enforcement and federal agencies like ICE and the FBI. When that kind of information-sharing increases, she said, “we lose control over how that information is used.”.
McKenna described a legal and practical boundary she believes is supposed to remain intact: “That’s part of the protection we’re supposed to have under our laws — that information that’s been collected for national security purposes not be used for domestic law enforcement purposes.” She added. “We have increasingly seen a blurring of national security measures becoming part of domestic law enforcement.”.
There are still a couple of weeks left in the World Cup. But there’s no telling yet how long the surveillance data gathered around the matches will be stored, or how it will be used after the celebrations end.
World Cup surveillance America250 NSSE counter-drone biometric surveillance facial recognition ICE FBI fusion centers CCTV Section 702 Wiretap Act