Governor Kathy Hochul announced $17.2 million in federal funding for World Cup security: $6.46 million for NYPD, $6.65 million for State Police, $2.61 million for MTA and $1.5 million for the Port Authority 1. The money comes from the $625 million in FEMA security grants delayed by a partial DHS shutdown triggered by Congressional deadlock over immigration enforcement spending . New York is among the first host cities to receive its share.
Counter-drone capability is the shared security priority across all three host nations. Mexico has positioned systems at its three host cities — 14,000-plus personnel in Mexico City, 12,000-plus in Guadalajara, 7,000 in Monterrey — under President Sheinbaum's Plan Kukulkan . Fortem Technologies' net-based counter-drone system was selected for tournament-wide deployment in February. The US, Mexico and Canada held their first trilateral counter-drone coordination meeting earlier in 2026 — a structural requirement of the first World Cup distributed across three countries.
The $2.61 million MTA allocation reflects a specific vulnerability. MetLife Stadium has no general parking and no tailgating for any of its eight matches, including the 19 July final . All 80,000 fans per match must travel by public transit — NJ Transit is building a dedicated bus terminal to handle 20,000 passengers per hour . Intelligence briefings disclosed in March warned of extremist threats to transportation infrastructure and identified FIFA Fan Festivals as soft targets . With the stadium car park closed and every ticket-holder travelling by rail or bus, the transit corridor between Manhattan and the Meadowlands is the primary security perimeter for each of MetLife's eight matches.
