{"id":304890,"date":"2026-06-12T06:56:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/304890\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T06:56:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T06:56:27","slug":"world-cup-miami-preview-fan-fest-matches-transportation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/304890\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Miami preview: Fan Fest, matches, transportation"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is finally here. After years of planning, anticipation, hype and a growing concern over high ticket prices and immigration restrictions, the largest World Cup in history kicks off on Thursday in Mexico City and will run through July 19 across 16 cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

The first of seven matches at Hard Rock Stadium (renamed Miami Stadium during the tournament due to strict FIFA sponsor rules) doesn\u2019t kick off until 6 p.m. Monday, Uruguay against Saudi Arabia, but already the World Cup buzz is palpable around downtown Miami.<\/p>\n

Giant soccer-themed billboards for tournament sponsors flank the exit ramps off I-95. Tourists in national team shirts and officials and media members with credential lanyards around their necks are roaming around Bayside Marketplace.<\/p>\n

The most visible sign of all that the World Cup is upon us is the transformation of 32-acre waterfront Bayfront Park into FIFA Fan Festival Miami. The mega watch party is free of charge and runs June 13 through July 5, with capacity for 30,000 daily attendees.<\/p>\n

Beyond live match broadcasts on four massive screens, the festival will feature an 8,000-capacity amphitheater, concerts, cultural programming tied to matches of the day, food booths, family-friendly games, mini soccer pitches, face-painting and interactive activations (including one called \u201cBeckham\u2019s Back Yard\u201d in which fans kick the ball around with a video version of the English icon and Inter Miami co-owner).<\/p>\n

Miami Host Committee officials and local politicians were at the Fan Festival on Wednesday as workers bustled around putting the final touches on the park. They are billing Bayfront Park as \u201cMiami\u2019s second stadium,\u201d a gathering place for fans who don\u2019t have tickets to matches and for ticketholders on off days.<\/p>\n

\"Jorge Jorge Gonzalez spreads an adhesive as he installs small lights for the World Cup exhibit labels at the FIFA Fan Festival Miami at Bayfront Park. The FIFA World Cup 2026TM Miami Host Committee invited media to an exclusive FIFA Fan Festival Miami Media Preview Day on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida, offering a first look at the central gathering place for hundreds of thousands of fans during the FIFA World Cup 2026. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to have the time of our lives,\u201d declared Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine-Cava. \u201cEveryone is welcome, all ages, they\u2019ll be able to watch matches for free. We want every resident to feel this is for them, and not just Miami-Dade, it\u2019s for the whole region. We are global. This is what we do; we bring people together. We are the most diverse, dynamic place on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

City of Miami mayor Eileen Higgins added: \u201cWe are so proud at the City of Miami that we will be the front porch to this year\u2019s FIFA World Cup, a place where if you couldn\u2019t get the tickets to the big matches, you could still feel part of the Copa right here in the heart of Miami, on the bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Miami Host Committee is also planning official watch parties across Miami-Dade County, including Little Haiti, North Beach, Hialeah, and Miami Gardens.<\/p>\n

World Cup fever will also be visible on the walls of Miami\u2019s tallest skyscraper. The 700-foot-tall Paramount Miami Worldcenter will be lit up with two soccer displays courtesy of the Miami Host Committee and Telemundo. Among the lighting designs will be an electronic ball-juggling soccer player, a mosaic of 48 flags and \u201cWelcome to Miami.\u201d Also, Miami Worldcenter will be adorned with 48 flags lining the project\u2019s six-blocks-long paseo, where merchants are hosting watch parties.<\/p>\n

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One of the biggest sources of concern for local fans and tournament authorities is transportation to and from games and the Fan Fest in a city known for traffic snarls. Fans are strongly urged to use public transportation, including special buses.<\/p>\n

On the seven match days \u2014 June 15, 21, 24, 27 and July 3, 11 and 18 \u2014 verified ticket holders can access the county\u2019s free bus shuttle services<\/a> at four hub sites in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward County that will pick up fans and deliver them to and from the stadium, beginning 3.5 hours prior to kickoff and up to two hours post-match.<\/p>\n

The Miami-Dade bus depots will be at: Lot 70 \u2013 Hard Rock Hotel (1 Seminole Way, Hollywood 33314), Lot 95 \u2013 Golden Glades Park & Ride (15890 NW 7 Ave. Miami, FL 33162), Brightline Aventura Station (19796 West Dixie Highway, Miami, FL 33180), MLK Metrorail Station (6205 NW 27th Ave, Miami, FL 33147).<\/p>\n

In Broward, buses will come and go from West Regional Terminal in Plantation and Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great free transit system, and we\u2019re putting out the word,\u201d Levine-Cava said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to get stuck in traffic, and we don\u2019t want to hurt our locals, either. You can also take transit to Bayfront Park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alina Hudak, President and CEO of the Miami Host Committee, echoed the mayor\u2019s message about transportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I would tell fans is we\u2019ve done a phenomenal job of partnering with Miami-Dade County and the Miami-Dade County Transportation Agency to provide supplemental service,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a beautiful transportation system. We want the transportation to be part of the fun and our system is ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have shuttle buses, people can hop on trains, Metro Mover, MetroRail from any end of our county, get to the MLK station and take a shuttle straight to the stadium. Europeans and South Americans are accustomed to that level of transfers and an opportunity to enjoy transit, so we look forward to everybody enjoying the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the eve of the tournament, ticket prices and U.S. immigration policies have made headlines around the world and cast a cloud over a World Cup that promised to be inclusive.<\/p>\n

Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who would have become Somalia\u2019s first World Cup referee after being named the African federation\u2019s best referee for 2025, was \u201cdeclared inadmissible due to issues in the background check process\u201d when he went through customs and immigration at Miami International Airport late last week and was denied entry to the United States.<\/a><\/p>\n

FIFA confirmed to the Herald that Artan would not be officiating this World Cup. Artan released a statement that said: \u201cDespite the circumstances, I am in a positive mood, and I am focused on the next challenges in my refereeing career. I would like to thank FIFA and CAF for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the football family for their messages and wish my colleagues all the best success during the World Cup and I look forward to joining them again in future competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somalia is on the list of countries whose citizens are barred from traveling to the United States, as is Iran. The Iranian national team, which plays two group matches in Los Angeles and another in Seattle, chose the Mexican city of Tijuana as its base camp.<\/p>\n

Asked about potential issues with foreign visitors entering the country, Levine-Cava said: \u201cWe\u2019ve been working relentlessly with all of the federal, state, local forces, and we know we\u2019re going to have a safe tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

2026 World Cup: What to Know, How to Watch<\/p>\n

When: June 11 to July 19<\/p>\n

Where: 16 cities in United States, Mexico, Canada. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York\/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey.<\/p>\n

Opening Match: Mexico vs. South Africa, June 11 at 3 p.m., Mexico City<\/p>\n

Final Match: July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey<\/p>\n

Matches in Miami:<\/p>\n

June 15: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (6 PM)<\/p>\n

June 21: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (6 PM)<\/p>\n

June 24: Brazil vs. Scotland (6 PM)<\/p>\n

June 27: Colombia vs. Portugal (7:30 PM)<\/p>\n

July 3: Round of 32 \u2014 1J vs. 2H (6 PM)<\/p>\n

July 11: Quarterfinal \u2014 Winner Game 91 vs. Winner Game 92 (5 PM)<\/p>\n

July 18: Bronze Final \u2014 Third Place Match (5 PM)<\/p>\n

How to watch: FOX, FS1, Telemundo, and Peacock<\/p>\n

World Cup Teams and Groups:<\/p>\n

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic<\/p>\n

Group B: Canada, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland<\/p>\n

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland<\/p>\n

Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey<\/p>\n

Group E: Germany, Cura\u00e7ao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador<\/p>\n

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia<\/p>\n

Group G: Belgium. Egypt, Iran, New Zealand<\/p>\n

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay<\/p>\n

Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway<\/p>\n

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan<\/p>\n

Group K: Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia<\/p>\n

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama<\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 4:20 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Michelle Kaufman<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is finally here. After years of planning, anticipation, hype and a growing concern over high ticket prices…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-304890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}