Nine people hurt in violent incidents near FIFA World Cup 2026 host city venues
Six people were wounded in a stabbing at New York's Penn Station on Sunday ahead of the tournament
Fresh security concerns have emerged for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after a series of violent incidents near match venues in the United States left nine people injured, with the tournament now just three days away.
Two separate incidents unfolded in World Cup host cities over the weekend, prompting heightened anxiety over the safety of fans set to attend the world's most-watched sporting event.
Penn Station stabbing and Kansas City shooting
Six people were wounded in a stabbing at New York's Penn Station on Sunday, according to the city's mayor, as the wider metropolitan area prepared to host two major sporting events simultaneously — the NBA Finals and the FIFA World Cup.
Separately, nine people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting near England's World Cup base camp in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday.
Madison Square Garden, situated directly above Penn Station in central Manhattan, is scheduled to host games three and four of the NBA Finals on Monday and Wednesday, featuring the New York Knicks against the San Antonio Spurs. MetLife Stadium, located across the border in the neighbouring state of New Jersey, will host its first World Cup fixture on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump is expected to attend Monday's NBA fixture at Madison Square Garden, having recently confirmed he accepted an invitation from Knicks owner James Dolan.
An unprecedented security operation
The 48-team, 104-match World Cup presents a security challenge of extraordinary scale for the host nations, and particularly for the United States, which will stage 78 matches across 11 cities.
On match days, the FBI will activate joint operations centres in each host city, drawing together local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and respond to potential threats.
The tournament has been granted the same high-level federal security designation as the Super Bowl — just below that of a presidential inauguration or a national political convention — ensuring co-ordination across federal, state, and local authorities. It also coincides with a series of other significant events tied to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Technology on the front line
Overseeing the vast security operation is a coalition of federal agencies, state and local police departments, and private organisations. Their remit spans everything from securing stadiums and fan zones to escorting teams and protecting visiting dignitaries.
Their arsenal includes hunter drones capable of deploying nets over objects entering restricted airspace, bag-inspecting robot dogs, large-scale X-ray trucks, and thousands of AI-powered cameras positioned across public spaces expected to draw enormous crowds.
Drones have been banned over stadiums and fan zones, and the FBI has confirmed it possesses a "full suite of options" to counter any incursions, according to FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel.
