White House task force was at Hard Rock Stadium to prep for World Cup security
Among those in the Hard Rock Stadium crowd Monday night for the College Football Playoff national championship was Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force on the 2026 World Cup.
Giuliani, son of former New York City major Rudy Giuliani, was there as part of the preparation for the month-long soccer tournament, which is being co-hosted this summer by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Hard Rock Stadium will host seven matches, including the most in-demand group stage game between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal team and Colombia on June 27.
“We’re going to be taking notes here,” Giuliani told the Miami Herald Monday during his visit.
He added that when President Trump appointed him to lead the task force, there were a few events in particular he realized would be valuable test runs for a World Cup: the Super Bowl in San Francisco, the Club World Cup, which hosted games all over the United States, including Hard Rock, and the college football national championship.
“The fact that the Miami Hurricanes were in the national championship is very helpful, because we’re going to see some of that passion you’ll see for some of the World Cup countries that will come in,” he said.
“So, it’s a fantastic opportunity to see how Miami police and the federal government are able to work together at such a major event. Having the President at the game, as well, really helps us because we get to see all the different security layers.”
The task force, created by President Trump, is coordinating the federal government’s security, logistics and transportation for the tournament in conjunction with local authorities.
Hard Rock Stadium made headlines during the 2024 Copa America, when hundreds of unruly fans (many of them without tickets) stormed the gates for the final match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina team. It was a chaotic scene with fans getting injured and arrested.
Since then, new security measures were implemented, and they were tested during the Club World Cup in 2025. There are multiple perimeters that fans must get through to enter the stadium and only fans with tickets will be permitted to be in the area.
As for a growing concern that ICE agents would conduct raids at stadiums or other World Cup-related events, Giuliani said: “If you’ve come to the country legally, you should not have any fear.”
He added: “More than anything, the President wants to make sure that these games are safe and that we have every single tool in our arsenal to make sure that we identify bad actors and are doing all we can to extract them if we need to.”
Giuliani also addressed foreign fans’ concerns regarding the Trump administration’s immigration policies and strict travel rules.
Last week, the administration announced a halt on visa processing for immigrants from 75 countries, including World Cup participants Algeria, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, and Uruguay.
That pause does not apply to people traveling on tourist or business visas (B1, B2 visas), Giuliani explained. It is only for foreign nationals applying for immigrant visas to live permanently in the United States. However, four nations (Haiti, Iran, Senegal and Ivory Coast) face more stringent travel restrictions.
In November, Trump announced that ticket holders traveling to the United States for the 2026 World Cup will be able to get expedited visa interviews through a new FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS). That system is scheduled to go live by the end of January.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in November that the State Department has deployed an additional 400 consular officers around the world to handle World Cup-related visa requests.
“The good news now is that in about 80 percent of the world you can get a [visa] appointment within 60 days,” Rubio said. “It used to take half a year or longer. In places like Brazil or Argentina, it took over a year to get an appointment. Now, you can get it in less than two months.
“So, our advice to everyone is, if you have a ticket for any of the games, you need to apply. If you haven’t done so, do it as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the last minute. Your ticket is not a visa. It doesn’t guarantee admission to the U.S. It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’re still going to go through the same vetting as anybody else would get. The only difference is, we’re moving them up in the queue.”
List of World Cup matches at Hard Rock Stadium
June 15: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (Group H)
June 21: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (Group H)
June 24: Brazil vs. Scotland (Group C)
June 27: Portugal vs. Colombia (Group K)
July 3: Round of 32 (Match 86)
July 11: Quarterfinal (Match 99)
July 18: Bronze Final/Third Place Game (Match 103)
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 4:22 PM.