A police officer gestures to a group of Argentina fans with drums on the stands to move away before the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Austria in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, June 22, 2026.
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
The World Cup security operation for North Texas matches largely unfolded as officials had hoped: enormous crowds filled the stadium and watch parties without a major public safety crisis.
The plans, years in the making and carried out over the last four weeks, did not go untested. As hundreds of thousands of visitors moved through the region, authorities dealt with dozens of unauthorized drones, attempts by ticketless fans to enter AT&T Stadium and stretches of high heat.
One brief confrontation over credentials between a Dallas police officer and the Egypt team’s director drew international attention. A bystander’s video of the heated encounter in a downtown Dallas hotel lobby became a flash point online, but both sides moved quickly to smooth it over, with police and team leaders later publicly acknowledging they had resolved the matter.
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Monica Paul, who leads the region’s World Cup organizing committee, said she was pleased with the coordination among local, state and federal agencies tasked with keeping the tournament safe. She said she hoped the hotel lobby episode would not define how visitors remember Dallas.
“We want to ensure that Dallas — and the North Texas region — is known as a welcoming city,” Paul said Monday in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “We work very hard on that, and I think we’ve shown that very well as a region.”
Related: Body-cam footage shows heated clash between Dallas officer, Egypt soccer team
A fuller measure of the tournament’s impact will take time. Organizers had projected 3.8 million visitors. The economic impact could take months to calculate. And local governments were tallying security costs — often among their largest expenses — in preparation for a reimbursement process backed by $51.5 million in federal funding.
Dallas and Arlington police, whose cities hosted much of the region’s World Cup activity, are describing the public safety operation as a success. So is the Secret Service’s Dallas Field Office, which served in a leading role with local, state and federal agencies during the tournament.
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The agency did not make the office’s special agent in charge, Christina Foley, available for an interview and said it does not discuss specific security measures. In a statement, it said agencies at all levels worked together throughout the tournament, assessing risks and adjusting their response when needed.
A handful of celebrities were spotted at Dallas Stadium in Arlington for the World Cup semifinal matchup between France and Spain on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
D-FW cities with bulk of World Cup activities
Dallas and Arlington police had practiced for crowds like these, just not at this scale.
Dallas officers drew on their experience policing the State Fair of Texas, they said, while Arlington leaned in part on years of managing Cowboys games and other major events at AT&T Stadium.
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“When you pull that off every year, this is easy,” Dallas police Chief Daniel Comeaux said of the annual 24-day event at Fair Park.
Officials said attendance figures for the Fan Festival, which runs through Sunday, were still being calculated and would be released at a later date.
Dallas police work the crowd during a watch party at Klyde Warren Park for Mexico’s FIFA World Cup round of 16 soccer match against England on Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Arlington Deputy Chief Leo Daniels said the city used a “last mile” approach, creating a largely fenced perimeter around the stadium that extended farther than the security footprint typically used for NFL games.
Arlington police said they made 45 arrests during the first eight matches, the most common charge being criminal trespass. Others faced trademark counterfeiting charges, generally tied to selling merchandise bearing unauthorized copies of protected team or tournament logos.
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In Dallas, police often cordoned off the block outside team hotels, including the Westin downtown and the W in Victory Park, when players were arriving or departing. Throngs of fans would gather nearby, hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite teams.
Then in Arlington, police faced large crowds as some of the sport’s greats made history at AT&T Stadium: Argentina’s Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, Norway’s Erling Haaland scored the winner in Norway’s first World Cup knockout-stage victory and Cristiano Ronaldo played his final World Cup match for Portugal.
Countering unauthorized drones was also a particular focus for authorities during the tournament, especially federal law enforcement agencies.
Before Tuesday’s match, officials had recorded dozens of unauthorized drone detections over the course of the tournament: 61 near Dallas’ Fan Festival and 58 near AT&T Stadium in Arlington, according to Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House task force coordinating federal preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA World Cup task force, speaks alongside Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, during a news conference ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at AT&T Stadium, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Arlington.
Elías Valverde II/Staff Photographer
Authorities seized just over half of the drones detected near Fan Festival and all but a few of those detected near the stadium, Giuliani said.
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Some of the drone incidents have led to federal charges. Prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas have charged at least two foreign nationals with illegally operating drones in restricted airspace near AT&T Stadium during matches.
Giuliani, who was in North Texas on Tuesday for the region’s final match, said the equipment and training used to counter unauthorized drones could continue to benefit local authorities after the tournament.
“It’s going to be so key for public gatherings that state and local law enforcement can have the ability to be able to protect stadiums, Fair Park, whatever it may be where you have tens of thousands of Americans and Texans gathering together,” he said in an interview.
Leaders pitch North Texas for Women’s World Cup
North Texas is not done pursuing World Cup matches.
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The Dallas Sports Commission has launched a campaign for the region to host matches in the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup, asking residents to sign a petition demonstrating local support.
FIFA has not yet awarded the event.
Dallas police patrol the crowd as Argentina soccer supporters rally at Klyde Warren Park on Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Dallas. Argentina faces Austria in a FIFA World Cup Group J soccer match on Monday.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Giuliani said he had spent the better part of a year discussing the possibility of North Texas hosting matches during the women’s tournament.
The region, he said, was “really well positioned” after its performance during the men’s World Cup.
“Dallas has led the way,” he said.