![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781749518_946_MIA_1_FIFA_Fan_Festival_MJO.JPG\" "\\"People")
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People arrive to the FIFA Fan Festival Miami at Bayfront Park on Saturday, June 13, 2026, in downtown Miami. Miami-Dade County is funding the free monthlong event as part of a $46 million subsidy package for World Cup that is now expected to be reduced with the influx of federal grant dollars for the global soccer tournament.<\/p>\n
Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County may be off the hook for part of its promised $46 million World Cup subsidy<\/a> for the global soccer tournament.<\/p>\n Last year, Miami-Dade approved spending about $25 million on free government services for World Cup \u2014 with the bulk of that to cover overtime by Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies providing security for the seven matches being played in June and July at Hard Rock Stadium.<\/p>\n Now, federal grant dollars are expected to cover most Sheriff\u2019s Office expenses related to World Cup, and the Sheriff\u2019s Office says it plans to ask the county for only a fraction of the original budget for the matches.<\/p>\n Argemis \u201cAC\u201d Colome, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office (MDSO), said about $3 million of the agency\u2019s expenses aren\u2019t eligible for the $28 million in federal security grants that were secured by the local Host Committee, which FIFA uses to manage logistics for the monthlong soccer event in Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n \u201cMDSO will be requesting reimbursement from the County for such items,\u201d Colome said of the $3 million in ineligible expenses. \u201cAny other expenses incurred that are disallowed by the grant will also be requested to be reimbursed by the County; however, we cannot estimate that at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n The math remains a little fuzzy in part because Miami-Dade has not released a detailed breakdown of its World Cup budget.<\/p>\n But Colome\u2019s statement suggests the county could see its expenses for the sporting event drop significantly. In addition to federal dollars covering most of Miami-Dade\u2019s security costs, the county itself will receive nearly $4 million to cover other donated government expenses related to World Cup, such as transportation and emergency management staff, according to Miami-Dade\u2019s Budget Office. Separately, Miami-Dade received another $7 million in federal dollars just for World Cup transportation costs \u2014 an expense that has crept higher in the two years since the Host Committee originally floated the $46 million subsidy package for Miami-Dade to cover World Cup security and logistics.<\/p>\n Even so, Miami-Dade still is on track for a large expenditure related to World Cup.<\/p>\n So far, event organizers say federal dollars won\u2019t be covering the $21 million in cash Miami-Dade has already paid to the Host Committee. Most of that $21 million is paying for the free monthlong Fan Festival underway in Miami\u2019s Bayfront Park, which includes viewing parties for World Cup matches across North America.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved legislation to seek more federal money to reduce the county\u2019s World Cup tab. The resolution by Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins instructs Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to pursue clawing back money from the Host Committee<\/a> if the county can determine federal dollars are now paying for expenses that Miami-Dade agreed to cover with its $21 million allocation.<\/p>\n Rodney Barreto, the chair of the local Host Committee, told the Miami Herald that his group does not have control of the $74 million in available federal grant money, which is being routed through Florida\u2019s Division of Emergency Management. The federal dollars for World Cup were included in the 2025 federal spending and tax legislation<\/a> known as the \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill,\u201d after lobbying from organizers in the 11 host cities in the United States.<\/p>\n Barreto said Miami-Dade should not expect any rebate from the $21 million cash it already paid to the Host Committee because the federal grant dollars won\u2019t cover those expenses.<\/p>\n Barreto said Miami-Dade\u2019s expenditures on World Cup are justified by the influx of visitors for the matches and by the global attention that comes with being a host city.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty-one million dollars for seven World Cup games is a bargain,\u201d he said. \u201cThe amount of exposure that Miami-Dade has already received \u2014 and we\u2019ve only played one game<\/a> \u2014 is absolutely worth that investment.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said the federal dollars are assigned to World Cup costs from various local governments throughout the region, not just Miami-Dade County.<\/p>\n