MDSO Successfully Concludes World Cup Security Operations

When nearly 63,000 fans streamed into Miami Stadium for the opening FIFA World Cup 26 match on June 15, 2026, they came to watch soccer. What they didn’t see was one of the largest and most complex public safety operations in Miami-Dade County history.

For 34 days, from the tournament’s opening match through the bronze medal game on July 18, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) served as the lead law enforcement agency responsible for securing seven World Cup matches. The assignment was the equivalent of hosting seven Super Bowls in just over a month, requiring years of planning, hundreds of personnel and seamless coordination.

“For months, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office worked side by side with our local, state and federal partners to prepare for every scenario and that preparation paid off,” said Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz.

The work began soon after FIFA announced on June 16, 2022, that Hard Rock Stadium—renamed Miami Stadium during the tournament under FIFA guidelines—would host World Cup matches. Over the next three years, MDSO conducted tabletop exercises, operational workshops and large-scale training events.

MDSO Major Benny Solis, of the Special Patrol Bureau, was the overall operational commander responsible for the seven matches at Miami Stadium and ancillary FIFA events throughout the county.

In February 2026, he traveled to Scotland to learn from Police Scotland and the UK Football Policing Unit about planning and securing major international soccer events. The training in crowd management, operational planning and public order helped shape security preparations for the seven FIFA World Cup matches at Miami Stadium and major fan events across Miami-Dade County, including the FIFA Fan Festival Miami at Bayfront Park. That event ran from June 13 to July 5.

MDSO also drew upon institutional knowledge gained from managing some of South Florida’s biggest events, including Super Bowl LIV in 2020, the Miami Open tennis tournament and the F1 Miami Grand Prix. The agency also relied on experience gained during some of the region’s defining emergencies, including Hurricane Andrew, the ValuJet Flight 592 crash and the Surfside condominium collapse.

By the time fans arrived for the opening match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, the security plan was well rehearsed. Preparation for each match day began hours before kickoff with a series of roll-call briefings, during which supervisors reviewed assignments before personnel headed to their posts and patrols.

Deputies staffed every stadium entrance, tunnel, concourse and seating level. The Bicycle Response Team maneuvered through crowds while K-9 teams swept the grounds. The Motorcycle Unit escorted team buses and VIPs while also conducting patrols. MDSO escorted referees to and from their hotel. Special Response Team deputies stood ready, along with the Rapid Deployment Force, Mobile Field Force, the Bomb Disposal Unit and the Priority Response Team, which is trained to respond to high-risk incidents, mass-casualty attacks, including active shooter situations, and acts of terrorism.

The Special Events Unit (SEU) coordinated with FIFA, law enforcement partners, Hard Rock Stadium management and numerous MDSO entities to ensure continuous monitoring of the stadium and surrounding areas, extending from the concourse to the perimeter and traffic operations. On every match day, SEU personnel arrived before the first roll calls and remained on site until the last fan had departed, overseeing the complex coordination required to safely manage tens of thousands of spectators.

Yet much of the operation unfolded well beyond the view of fans at the Joint Security Operations Center (JSOC), a temporary command site located about two miles from the stadium. There, local, regional, state and federal law enforcement agencies worked side by side inside parked mobile command vehicles and portable office units. That multi-agency configuration at the JSOC allowed officials to swiftly share intelligence, identify emerging issues and coordinate responses at the stadium.

Supporting that effort was MDSO’s Technology Operations Unit (TOU). Before the tournament began, deputies installed dozens of portable pan-tilt-zoom cameras inside the stadium and license plate readers throughout the stadium’s perimeter. Combined with the stadium’s existing camera network, the technology provided near-continuous visibility across entrances, seating areas, parking lots, transportation corridors and fan gathering areas. The live feeds were shared throughout the JSOC and with a command post within the stadium that included personnel from MDSO and other law enforcement agencies.

The live video was displayed on wall-mounted monitors and laptops. Additionally, personnel communicated through cell phones and radios. At the JSOC, backup communications systems stood ready if commercial wireless networks failed, while a mobile chemical analysis laboratory remained available to evaluate potential biological threats.

Today’s major international sporting events require agencies to prepare for far more than crowd management.

Cybersecurity threats, unmanned aircraft systems, organized crime and other evolving risks have become part of modern event security. The security plan took those scenarios into account.

By the tournament’s conclusion, the numbers reflected both the scale of the event and the effectiveness of the operation. A total of 424,187 fans attended the seven matches at Miami Stadium.

There were 36 arrests, 93 ejections, 777 citations, and deputies seized 2,086 counterfeit merchandise items. The FBI also seized 37 drones that violated restricted airspace around the stadium. MDSO’s Organized Crimes Bureau conducted 17 proactive operations as part of a comprehensive initiative to identify and recover victims of human trafficking, disrupt commercial sexual exploitation, and reduce demand. Investigators made 34 felony arrests for offenses related to human trafficking, child exploitation, deriving support from prostitution, unlicensed health care practice, repeat prostitution offenses, and narcotics violations. They also made 152 misdemeanor arrests.

“We utilized real-time intelligence, technology and patrols, including undercover operations targeting human trafficking,” Major Solis said. “Behind every celebration, watch party, road closure and security checkpoint, our mission never changed. Our mission was to protect residents, visitors and fans so the world could experience Miami’s energy safely while ensuring our community remained secure, resilient and proud of the way we served.”

For MDSO, the World Cup became a defining operational achievement, demonstrating the agency’s ability to plan for, coordinate and secure one of the world’s largest sporting events while allowing the spotlight to remain exactly where it belonged: on the matches.

As fans left the matches talking about spectacular goals, dramatic saves and unforgettable moments on the pitch, deputies were simply finishing another long shift, often after spending more than eight hours on their feet in the South Florida heat and humidity.

The time could drag on, they acknowledged, but complacency was never an option. Vigilance remained constant, even during the quiet moments.

A little cafecito helped carry them through the day.