The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest mass gathering event in U.S. history. More than five million tickets have been sold across three countries and 16 cities over 39 days, dwarfing the 3.4 million total attendance at the 2022 World Cup. President Trump championed the hosting bid, created a White House task force for the World Cup that he chairs and accepted FIFA’s inaugural “Peace Prize” at the draw in December. Yet the federal government allocated $625 million for World Cup law enforcement and security, and zero for public health.
As an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist, I didn't come to soccer on my own. My late husband, Grant Wahl, covered multiple World Cups for Sports Illustrated starting in 1998. He died at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. The 2026 World Cup in North America was the one he had been building toward his whole career. Now that it’s here, there are certain gaps in the tournament’s preparation worth addressing.
