Tickets? Economic impact? Broward events? Answering some FAQs about World Cup in Miami
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is still more than four years away, but South Florida is already fired up about the games it will host.
On Friday, representatives from the Miami Dolphins, Miami-Dade County, Miami Gardens, Miami itself, and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau all gathered at Hard Rock Stadium to officially welcome the 2026 World Cup to the region.
Even with four years to get ready, some pressing questions are already out there.
When will tickets start selling?
The big one most people have: When can people actually start getting their hands on tickets?
Unfortunately, this is one area the Dolphins, who own the stadium, don’t actually control.
“That’s going to be up to FIFA, not me, so I don’t have information at this time on that,” said Tom Garfinkel, the CEO of the team and stadium. “We’re not going to be responsible for selling tickets. FIFA is, so we’ll find out more from them. Right now, we’re just happy to find the event.”
He also doesn’t have any inside information — at least not any he can share — about what level of games will come to Dade County.
FIFA has not yet announced which cities will host games in the knockout rounds, but the United States — rather than co-hosts Canada and Mexico — will host all games from the quarterfinals on, giving Miami-Dade an increased chance it will host significant games late in the tournament.
“That’ll be an announcement that FIFA will make at the appropriate time,” Garfinkel said. “That’s not my news.”
How will Miami actually benefit?
Economic-impact numbers are always murky, based off projections rather than tangible information. Still, Daniella Levine-Cava insists the FIFA World Cup will be a boon for the county.
“We expect that the World Cup will benefit our local economy,” the Miami-Dade County mayor said.
The most obvious beneficiaries are hotels and restaurants. The World Cup will draw tourism from all over the country and world, and those visitors need places to stay and eat.
The county itself will also make money, Levine-Cava said, thanks to its 1 percent tax on all food and beverage sales by businesses which sell alcohol for on-premises consumption. Of the money generated from this “Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax,” 85 percent goes to the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust.
“We’re all aware that housing affordability is a crisis here in Miami-Dade County. This event is going to help us grapple with that problem,” Levine-Cava said. “We are committed to finding solutions for our everyday residents, as well as to continue to celebrate with all of the fans from around the world.”
Will anything be in Broward?
The event Friday was very Miami-centric for good reason: The proposal made to FIFA was strictly based around Miami-Dade County.
Still, the World Cup will inevitably effect all of South Florida, including Broward County. Visitors will certainly book hotels in Fort Lauderdale, visit Broward’s beaches and dine all over the Miami metropolitan area.
Although neither Broward nor Palm Beach counties were part of the pitch to FIFA, Garfinkel suspects they helped.
DRV PNK Stadium, the current Fort Lauderdale home of Inter Miami CF, also provides a potential location for teams to practice, although the Major League Soccer club is expected to be playing at Miami Freedom Park by 2026.
“Certainly having all of South Florida — the hotels, the beaches, the restaurants — just adds to the mix,” Garfinkel said. “It’s going to benefit all of South Florida and I think having this whole South Florida community as part of it certainly was attractive.”
