Going to the 2026 World Cup? Here's How You Could Be Tracked

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event ever held. It is also the most watched and monitored World Cup in history. If you go to a host city, governments and private companies may track your face, your movements, your behavior, and even your phone. More than $1 billion in U.S. government money has been spent on security tools for the event.

Much of that money went toward stopping dangerous drone use near stadiums and transit hubs. But privacy experts say spending on security also gave the government a reason to build powerful new surveillance systems. These systems can collect huge amounts of personal data on ordinary people. Critics worry that once these tools are in place, they will not go away after the World Cup ends.

More than 120 groups, including Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union, have issued a travel warning. They say people visiting the U.S. during the World Cup could face serious risks. Those risks include having their social media accounts checked, having their devices searched at the border, and facing racial profiling. Some travelers could even be detained or deported.

Facial recognition cameras have been set up at stadiums across all the host cities. These cameras scan people's faces and store that information as biometric data. Biometric data is unique information about your body, like your fingerprints or face. People who attend games may not know their facial data is being collected or how it will be used later.

Drones are also being used as powerful surveillance tools during the World Cup. Some drones can fly as high as 60,000 feet and still read text on a small object below. They can also carry technology that acts like a cell phone tower, letting officials track your location or read your messages. States like New York are using federal money to add more police drones.

Cameras on the ground are expanding too. Robot dogs with cameras are patrolling areas in Dallas and New Jersey. Seattle turned on a large network of security cameras that had been shut down before because of privacy concerns. City leaders say they are working on rules to protect the data these cameras collect, but those rules are not fully in place yet.

Security cameras, called CCTV systems, now cover much larger areas than they used to. Artificial intelligence software can analyze the video footage and identify people, objects, and even behaviors. Government data centers can combine this camera data with other information to build detailed profiles of individuals. Experts warn that this level of tracking goes far beyond what most people would expect at a sporting event.

There are also new legal concerns for certain travelers. A 2025 Supreme Court ruling has been criticized for allowing racial profiling in immigration enforcement. President Trump also signed an order saying the federal government will only recognize male and female sex markers on official IDs. Countries like Germany have warned their transgender and nonbinary citizens that they might be turned away at the U.S. border because of this rule.

Privacy experts say the biggest question is what happens after the World Cup is over. There are few laws requiring the government to delete the data it collects or shut down the surveillance systems it builds. It is hard for the public to find out what data is being stored, who can see it, or how long it will be kept. Lawmakers have the power to create stronger privacy rules, but experts say not enough has been done so far.