When Morocco presented its bid to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, it highlighted its low circulation of guns. It was a not-so-subtle slight against the United States and its joint bid with Canada and Mexico, which itself mentioned guns only once – stating that it is a political issue for Americans.
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That political issue remains, as do the real-life consequences. The recent fatal shooting in Kansas City, Missouri during the Super Bowl victory celebration has raised fresh questions about how FIFA will approach the issue of gun violence when the World Cup comes to the U.S., including Kansas City, in 2026.
Despite officials in Kansas City dedicating more than 800 police officers to securing the area during the Super Bowl victory parade, an alleged dispute between several people resulted in gunfire that left a beloved radio DJ and mother of two dead, and more than 20 injured. Half of those injured were under 16.
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Two juveniles were charged with gun-related charges and resisting arrest in connection with the shooting. Missouri prosecutors later charged two Missouri men with second-degree murder and several weapons counts.
The event also raises red flags for soccer’s governing body, FIFA, which is expected to bring millions of fans to stadiums throughout the United States over a span of 104 World Cup games in 39 days in 2026. The tournament will also be the first World Cup without a national organizing committee.
Here’s how FIFA and 2026 host cities are thinking about the issue, just over two years out from the start of the tournament.
Policing fan fests
Legal experts and gun safety advocates say they are less concerned about organizers keeping fans safe inside stadiums, which are already heavily secured with fans going through metal detectors and bag inspection checkpoints before entering. Their concerns grow, though, when discussing large public gatherings like fan celebrations, which in many ways resemble the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.
It’s typical at World Cups for each host city to have a designated fan fest – a large, usually outdoor gathering spot with a large screen that offers fans a place to watch World Cup games for free throughout the tournament. Locations for 2026’s fan fests are still being pinned down by local organizers, which means security plans are also pending.
However, the question of who will run these fan fests, and to what extent World Cup organizers FIFA will have jurisdiction to restrict firearms beyond the scope of state or federal law, is unclear.
The Sports Business Journal in January reported that FIFA indicated privately to organizers that it will let host cities take more control of fan fests, which are considered an avenue for host cities to generate revenue to help offset the costs of hosting World Cup games.
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What the documents say
Official bid documents submitted to FIFA outline security and safety plans for the 2026 tournament but don’t specifically mention the potential threat of gun violence. At the time of publication, there have been 63 mass shootings in the United States in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which describes a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed.
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The bid also outlines the extensive stadium command centers that organizers will establish for every match, and states that security plans for FIFA fan fests “will be determined based on threat analysis” and will include “elevated security resources in the area of general policing, crowd management, and other appropriate measures.”
When asked by The Athletic about how the organization plans to approach gun violence in the U.S. in the wake of the Super Bowl parade shooting, a FIFA spokesperson said: “First and foremost, we extend our deepest sympathies to the families and victims of the tragedy. Our thoughts are with the entire community.
“Fan and player safety and security is an essential part of the overall operations of the FIFA World Cup. We continue to work closely with Federal, state, tribal and municipal authorities, along with the host city committees, to set the best safety and security standards for the tournament in 2026.”
Officials from KC2026, the city’s local organizing committee, shared a nearly identical statement.
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FIFA to work with local and federal authorities
The potential for gun violence is just one of the many threats organizers must be prepared for, said Alan Rothenberg, the former president of U.S. Soccer who organized the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. and is now advising several 2026 host cities.
“Safety and security are top of mind for any event organizer, particularly for something like the World Cup, which is a high profile, international event,” Rothenberg said. “But I think you’ve got to separate potential gun violence, or any other act of violence inside the stadium, versus outside.”
It’s unlikely that a person will carry a weapon into a stadium because of the various safeguards that exist when entering the facility, or even when entering the premises surrounding those venues, Rothenberg said. “But obviously, the issue is the huge area outside, which is a big public safety concern.”
Those public areas become top priorities for local law enforcement agencies during a large event like the World Cup, he said.
“All the cities that we’re talking about have had major events of one kind or another, so it’s not new to them,” Rothenberg said. “With something like the World Cup and the Olympics, which are international events, you start broadening your scope of concern. Unfortunately, we can’t have 100 per cent security (guarantees), but you have international organizations, like Interpol and others, who will cooperate, and the FBI, (which) really help.”
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Rothenberg recalled how, during the 1994 World Cup, hooliganism was a very real security concern. Organizers were prepared to work with English law enforcement, who had dossiers on known hooligans. Those plans became moot once England failed to qualify for the tournament, though organizers would rather be over-prepared than not.
Rothenberg said that “there’s probably no single item (organizers) will spend as much time and money on to assure safety” than security.
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Navigating state laws
Potentially complicating organizers’ best intentions, though, are the varying state laws that govern the level of licensing needed to carry a firearm, and also how concealed that firearm is allowed to be. Hovering over all of that is the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the specific meaning of which is hotly debated, but which states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Who holds the authority to prohibit guns on public grounds often becomes a complicated legal dance, which could become even more so with a private enterprise (FIFA or a local committee) running a private enterprise (a fan fest) on public land.
“There are some states like California and New York that have very strong gun laws, and really do a good job vetting people before they are allowed to carry guns in public places,” said Lindsay Nichols, policy director at Giffords Law Center, a gun safety group that releases an annual scorecard that analyzes every state and its gun laws. “Their concealed carry laws are relatively strong. There’s a background check requirement (and) a training requirement that people have to go through so that only responsible gun owners are able to carry guns in public.
“Other states like Texas, Missouri and Georgia, don’t have those requirements anymore,” she said. “They used to, but they have, in recent years, repealed those requirements.” Nichols described those states as “permitless carry states,” meaning a person no longer requires a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public.
Laws grow even more complicated when considering whether guns are allowed in public spaces, such as parks – the types of places where FIFA fan fests would theoretically be held. In private spaces, it’s generally up to the owner of that property whether guns are permitted or not.
Whether gun violence is top of mind for fans or not, the reality is this epidemic has tainted the United States’ global reputation, said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who specializes in American constitutional law, the Supreme Court, and gun policy.
“America’s reputation around the world is being affected by the prevalence of firearms and our expansive gun rights system,” he said. “Everywhere you go around the world, people will talk about what’s going on in America. Why are there so many guns? Why are so many people dying at the hands of guns?
“When the World Champion Kansas City Chiefs have their celebratory parade marred by gun violence that makes news around the world, and you can’t blame people who are coming to America to have second thoughts about doing so.”
(Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)