A match was delayed for more than an hour. Footage showed fans breaching gates. Armed police checked tickets row by row. The Copa America final last week in Miami could be used as a case study of what not to do for the host committee responsible for planning the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium.
The host committee responsible for planning the FIFA matches in East Rutherford didn’t have anything to do with planning the Copa America tournament but committee co-chairs Lauren LaRusso and Bruce Revman attended both of the matches held at MetLife. They spoke of the electric feeling in the stadium during those games, but noted that they were there to learn as well.
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“We looked at security operations generally…because it is a big tournament, not as big as World Cup, but it did offer us an opportunity to take it all in,” LaRusso said. “We as a host committee and FIFA, along with our law enforcement and security experts, have been planning toward a secure perimeter, which is typically done for large scale international events.”
That means security and ticket checkpoints typically found just outside the concourse will be beyond a perimeter much farther away, beyond the first ring of parking lots, creating a buffer zone around the stadium.
There will also be staggered “hard and soft checks” in that area, LaRusso said, meaning ticket scans as well as magnetometers and pat-downs. She also said FIFA hasn’t made a decision on tailgating yet but fans that don’t have tickets are encouraged to attend fan fest events throughout the region.
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Making sure fans are safe isn’t just confined to the stadium either. Revman noted that the NYPD manages crowds year-round for things like the ball drop on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, the UN General Assembly and the New York City Marathon, so officials aren’t strangers to taking precautions and will be ready for the fan events held in the city.
He said law enforcement officials “certainly do not have a lack of imagination as to what to be prepared for” and regional collaboration for 2026 has been in the works for a couple of years and will continue to heighten.
The host committee isn’t just coordinating when it comes to big sporting events at the stadium though. Revman said that while about a dozen officers observed the match between Argentina and Canada, earlier this month he and LaRusso as well as a security consultant sat in on New York City's interagency preparation for the July 4 fireworks.
“It's a daily thing that we are working on, and we're never going to take our eye off of that,” LaRusso said. “It's the first and foremost thing we think about, because you really can’t have a successful tournament without players, fans and the community feeling safe.”
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
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