Irving police lay out security concerns for FIFA World Cup 2026
The FIFA World Cup is coming to North Texas next year and the Irving Police Department is already expressing concerns about staffing and safety.
Tom Hover, the assistant chief of police of Field Operations for IPD, explained the department's concerns during a city council meeting on Thursday.
"Everybody compares the World Cup games to a Super Bowl," said Hover. "But the difference between a Super Bowl and what's happening with FIFA is there's only one Super Bowl, while there's 104 games that are going on for FIFA World Cup."
The department is requesting that the city council consider $1,706,277 to $5,921,266 in overtime based on team selection, which IPD cannot confirm until after January 1.
While AT&T Stadium is where nine marquee matches are scheduled — the most in North America, Irving is a base camp, and the city will still see a lot more action than many anticipate, Hover said.
"While Arlington hosts the games themselves, the rest of the cities in [North Texas] that'll be contributing, the movements of the teams, the security of the teams, whether it's to and from practice or to and from the events itself or back and forth into the airport," he said.
Here are a few things happening simultaneously with the massive sporting event:
- Fourth of July holiday
- Golf tournaments
- Hotel-sponsored fan events
- Non-sponsored events
- Bars, restaurants and home parties
- Short-term rentals
- Potential for crime
Hover said police still have to maintain daily life for Irving as well. Parking, for instance, may become an issue.
"Our day-to-day lives, our community still does their normal, normal, everyday work," he said. "And so not only do we have to prepare for what the World Cup is, but we have to continue on providing the same services and the same level of services to our community. So it's going to be it's going to be a challenge."
Council members were uncertain whether they had voted to approve the funding if the city would be reimbursed.
