FIFA World Cup 2026™: Enhancing Integrity Safeguards in Miami Meeting

The FIFA Integrity Task Force convened in Miami on 7 May for a pivotal in-person meeting that brought together key stakeholders to put the finishing touches to and stress-test the integrity framework for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Held at FIFA’s Americas office in Coral Gables, Miami, the day-long event marked a significant milestone in the tournament preparations, with a clear emphasis on operational readiness, coordination and risk mitigation.

Central to the meeting was a detailed walk-through of the finalised monitoring plan for the upcoming tournament. Building on prior consultation rounds, the task force members aligned on core mechanisms, including monitoring coverage, reporting lines and escalation procedures. The roles and responsibilities across stakeholders were also further defined, ensuring clarity on how potential integrity concerns will be identified and managed in real time.

Update on broader integrity activities

Furthermore, FIFA presented a comprehensive update on its broader integrity activities in the lead-up to the competition. These include targeted briefings delivered to Participating Member Associations, match officials, and other relevant FIFA on-field personnel, which are designed to embed awareness and consistency across all layers of the tournament operations, and the delivery of FIFA Integrity education resources and reporting tools directly to players via the official FIFA Player App.

A significant portion of the meeting agenda was dedicated to risk assessment, with the task force’s leading betting monitoring partners contributing their latest intelligence. Representatives from organisations such as Sportradar, the International Betting Integrity Association, the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports, Genius Sports and Integrity Compliance 360 offered insights into betting market dynamics and flagged potential vulnerabilities ahead of the big kick-off. These perspectives were complemented by a broader analysis of the global betting landscape, including the emergence of new consumer products such as prediction markets and their associated integrity risks.


 

Wider security and safeguards frameworks

Beyond betting-related threats, the task force also examined wider security and intelligence considerations. A dedicated session explored competition-specific risks, including match-related threats and the coordination required between internal FIFA units and external partners. The discussion underlined the importance of integrated intelligence-sharing safeguards frameworks and proactive risk detection.

“This event was structured to encourage active engagement and solutions-oriented dialogue, reinforcing collaboration as a cornerstone of FIFA’s integrity approach,” said Emilio García Silvero, FIFA’s Chief Legal & Compliance Officer. “The Integrity Task Force has a clear and important mandate: to safeguard the FIFA World Cup 2026 through vigilance, coordination and decisive action.”

Participating Member Associations

Among the participants at the meeting were AFC, CAF, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, UEFA, OFC, United States Soccer Federation, Canada Soccer, Mexican Football Federation, FBI, INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Council of Europe, Group of Copenhagen, Sportradar, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS), IC360, Genius Sports, United States Department of Justice, Sport Integrity Canada, Canadian Competition Bureau, the Comisión Federal de Competencia Económica, and anti-match-fixing expert Karl Dhont.