Federal funds for World Cup security are late. What does this mean for LA?

The federal government hasn't yet awarded hundreds of millions of dollars that it promised for security for the World Cup, less than four months before the tournament kicks off in cities across the U.S. including Los Angeles.

Officials in some host cities warned at a Congressional hearing last week that if those funds aren't released soon it could lead them to massively scale back or cancel their events for fans this summer – but what the delay means for L.A. is less clear.

Los Angeles is hosting eight matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a five-day "fan festival" at L.A. Memorial Coliseum and official "fan zones" across the county during the 39-day tournament.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee – the group responsible for putting on the fan programs here – declined to comment on concerns over federal funds, despite requests via email, text and phone last week.

LAist asked the Los Angeles host committee how much federal funding it was expecting to receive for security, but did not receive a response. Homeland Security Committee chair Rep. Andrew Garbarino said that Miami, which is hosting seven matches and a 23-day fan festival, is expecting around $70 million in federal funding.

"Without receiving this money, it could be catastrophic for our planning and coordination," Raymond Martinez, the Chief Operating Officer of Miami's host committee, told a Congressional Homeland Security committee last week.

Why is $625 million for World Cup security delayed?

President Donald Trump allocated $625 million dollars to World Cup security in his “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” last year. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is responsible for allocating that money to the 11 host city committees in the U.S., and those funds were supposed to be awarded by the end of January, according to details provided by FEMA's for grant applicants. But they're now more than a month late.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed the ongoing government shutdown of her department.

“FEMA was in the final stages of reviewing applications to ensure proper oversight when Democrats shut down the government putting significant portions of the FEMA staff on administrative leave," she said in a statement. "The longer DHS goes without funding, the less prepared our nation will be for threats at the FIFA World Cup."

Democrat Nellie Pou of New Jersey shot back at Secretary Noem on X, pointing out that FEMA's website says it planned to award the funds by the end of January.

"World Cup security funding was enacted into law last summer and these matches have been scheduled for years," Pou wrote. "It’s time for DHS to do its job."

Beyond the federal dollars for security surrounding the tournament, the state of California has also approved $10 million for security costs for the World Cup in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

How the World Cup works in L.A.

Los Angeles is the host city of the World Cup matches and celebrations coming to the region this summer, but the city of L.A. is not paying for or planning the mega-event. That planning is up to the non-profit Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, which is leading the local host committee and coordinating with FIFA and other local entities.

Federal security funds will be awarded to the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and then the host committee will disburse those funds to local agencies that provide security for the World Cup and fan celebrations.

Most of the federal funding for the 11 host cities will go toward overtime costs, according to FEMA, and that money will be paid out as reimbursements.

The city of L.A. is currently negotiating an agreement with that committee on what city services, such as police, it might provide, according to multiple city officials.

The City Administrative Officer is negotiating that deal. An official in the CAO’s office told LAist that the host committee expects that federal funds will cover all those costs.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to questions from LAist on how LAPD is coordinating with other law enforcement agencies ahead of the World Cup.

LA and Inglewood officials say they're not concerned

Local officials told LAist last week that they were not concerned that the delay in federal funds would derail World Cup plans in Los Angeles.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts said that the city was expecting to receive payments from FIFA directly for services, as well as some of the federal security money awarded by FEMA.

" We're not concerned at all," he said in an interview. "The federal government has always come through on FEMA related allocations."

Paul Krekorian, who leads the City of Los Angeles's Office of Major Events, said he did not think that delayed federal funds would cause organizers to cancel the planned Fan Festival.

"We have events at the Coliseum all the time, and this is a few days of ticketed events at the Coliseum," he told LAist. "I expect that if we have to provide extra services that we will be reimbursed for those, but it's not a big enough aberration from things that we do all the time that would cause me to be concerned that if we don't have federal support, we have to cancel."

Team U.S.A.'s opening match will take place in Los Angeles on June 12. The fan festival will kick off the same day as the tournament, June 11.