If  the children assembled on a hot July day at MetLife Stadium listened  closely, they might have been able to hear the cheers of Argentina fans,  whose heroes had hours earlier used a goal by legendary striker Lionel  Messi to subdue Canada in a 2024 Copa America tournament semifinal game  at the stadium.

More than 700 young soccer players dribbled,  passed and shot, just as Messi had, during a clinic designed to boost  awareness of the eight 2026 World Cup games—including the final—that  will take place in East Rutherford.

“The smiles on the kids’  faces, whether they were just learning the game or if they had been  playing it for 10 years, showed how excited they were about what’s to  come,” says Lauren LaRusso, New York New Jersey 2026 World Cup host  committee manager and general counsel.

While  the majority of fans will focus on the results of the 48-nation  tournament, local municipalities, boroughs, towns and businesses will  hope to profit from the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. Meanwhile,  planners and administrators will handle an avalanche of logistical,  security and communications challenges.

“This will be the biggest  sports event in history for the region and the [region’s] biggest  economic event in history, especially since we are getting eight games,  including the final,” says Wes Mathews, president and CEO of ChooseNJ  and president of the Host Committee Board.

The  tournament will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but  its heartbeat will be contained in the concentric circles around MetLife  Stadium. People of nearly 200 nationalities live within that region,  many of whom are soccer fans. Thanks in part to New Jersey governor Phil  Murphy—himself a soccer lover—the host committee was able to convince  FIFA, the world’s soccer-governing body, to stage the final at MetLife.

“When  [New York mayor] Eric Adams and Murphy heard the final was going to be  in Arlington [Texas], they asked [FIFA president] Gianni Infantino to  make one more trip to the area,” Mathews says. “They put him in front of  some of the most powerful CEOs in the world and showed him why the  final should be at MetLife.”

Staging the games will require a  battalion of volunteers (10,000, according to LaRusso) and significant  planning on myriad fronts. MetLife Stadium hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in  February 2014. This is like hosting eight Super Bowls in just over five  weeks, as Mathews puts it.

“We are saying the world will be at our  doorstep in 2026 and will be watching,” LaRusso says. “We have one of  the greatest opportunities of our lifetime to showcase New York and New  Jersey and what we have to offer. “We will be making sure the world  knows about us.”

In 1994, Giants Stadium hosted Italy and Ireland  in the region’s first-ever World Cup matchup, and Jim Kirkos was there.  Kirkos had been a member of the ’94 host committee, but the game was his  first experience with international soccer.

“It was all new to  me,” says Kirkos, who is president and CEO of the Meadowlands Chamber of  Commerce. “I never understood how big the game was and how big the  World Cup was. I could not believe the passion. I was hooked.”

During  Kirkos’s 22 years with the Meadowlands chamber, he has “learned a lot  about hosting big events,” including the Super Bowl. That accumulated  knowledge will help him and his staff coordinate businesses that want to  benefit from the World Cup experience.

The  chamber will use social media and other marketing strategies to make  sure visitors know where to “eat, drink, stay and shop,” and that area  businesses are prepared. Some are ready to go right now. David Moncada, a  bartender at Mulligan’s Pub in Hoboken, which bills itself as NJ’s  premier football bar, anticipates the street in front of the  establishment will be closed on World Cup game days, creating a  block-party vibe. “We expect we will have more people at the bar, more  fans watching, and more memories,” Moncada says. “In New Jersey, people  know this is the place to be for games.”

Mulligan’s owner Paul  Dawson says that he expects a diverse crowd of fans like the bar usually  attracts from the area. “Soccer is the world’s most popular sport,”  says the Dublin native. “It keeps everyone together. It’s the universal  language. It connects people from Europe to South America to Asia and  everywhere else.”

In  Carlstadt, Redd’s Restaurant boasts more than 50 TVs and is packed  whenever MetLife holds an event. For the World Cup, it will be a nonstop  party, and fans of every country will be welcome.

“It is a great  opportunity,” owner Doug Palsi says. “Anytime there’s an event at  MetLife Stadium, we do great. When you throw the biggest sporting event  ever, it’s even bigger. “We’re thrilled to welcome the world.”

Kirkos  wants the region’s ethnic-themed restaurants to create special events  built around games. He hopes neighborhoods and municipalities will turn  local streets into soccer festivals. For MetLife’s five  preliminary-round games, the chamber will designate “flag cities” that  adopt various countries and host events for their fans.

“We want  to make people feel welcome,” Kirkos says. “We want to embrace the game.  At the end of the day, whether visitors come from outside the region or  from neighboring towns, as long as the door opens and closes a lot, we  will be happy, because there will be economic impact.”

One study  predicted there will be a $2 billion infusion from the World Cup, which  will support more than 14,000 jobs—but that revenue estimate could be  low. It comes at an up-front price. A total of $67.5 million has been  allocated by the state to the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority  to cover costs for fiscal years 2023-2025, and $30.7 million will go to  stadium improvements, such as widening the playing surface and growing  and installing a grass field. (MetLife has an artificial turf field.)  The state also earmarked $38.5 million for New Jersey Transit to expand  transportation options around MetLife Stadium.

There will be  further capital needs as the World Cup approaches, with Murphy’s office  reporting that significant funding will come from private and corporate  sources.

“The cost of hosting these historic games will represent  only a fraction of the total benefit,” says Natalie Hamilton,  spokesperson for Murphy.

All efforts must take place within the  stringent requirements of FIFA, which is draconian in its protection of  sponsors and the event brand.

A May article in the Athletic detailed some of the FIFA mandates, such as complete control of MetLife  from 30 days before the first game played there until seven days after  the final. All existing advertising must be removed from the stadium,  which will be referred to as NYNJ Stadium for the duration of the games,  and FIFA will manage the tickets for each game.

All businesses  around the venue must be open on game days. Kirkos says FIFA has  outlined its requirements clearly and is “listening to us” regarding how  commercial entities can benefit from the event. Bruce Revman, co-host  committee manager, says that while FIFA’s regulations are stringent,  there is room for compromise.

“Lauren and I have been working with  FIFA for five years, and we usually get to the place where we need to  be,” Revman says. “They are actually good partners.”

Security is  even more important. At the Copa America final in July, there was chaos  at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami as countless fans attempted to enter  without tickets, causing a game delay and stadium damage. The semifinal  matchup between Uruguay and Colombia in Charlotte featured violence in  the stands.

Not long after the trouble at Hard Rock, Murphy  appeared on ESPN while visiting Germany during the Euro 2024 tournament  to give assurances the state will “take every precaution,” and that  MetLife will be “really safe and secure.” The stadium’s history of  staging big events safely should engender confidence.

“We work  with a sophisticated stadium staff and also law enforcement,” LaRusso  says. “Law enforcement is embedded in the stadium, particularly on the  field. You don’t see that in every stadium. We approach it differently.  Counterterrorism and law enforcement is woven into the stadium.”

There  is a grass-roots component, too. As the youth clinic showed in July,  there is a goal of helping to grow the sport throughout New Jersey. That  means giving underserved communities a chance to experience soccer.

“This  is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our entire region,” Murphy  says. “Hosting the final and seven other matches provides NYNJ an  unparalleled platform to brilliantly showcase what we stand for:  diversity, equity access and inclusion.”

That is the mandate FIFA  required when nations were bidding to host the World Cup, according to  Ed Foster-Simeon, president and CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. The  foundation is committed to providing opportunities for youth, especially  those without easy access to the sport. Foster-Simeon says the region  is aiming to build 26 new fields, reach 25,000 young people, and train  1,000 coaches/mentors. “Look at the U.S. Soccer Foundation,” he says.  “It was created in 1994 as a legacy of the World Cup, and we have  invested more than $125 million to ensure the growth of the game in the  country. In recent years, we have focused on kids who don’t have the  resources to participate. It’s a perfect example of what can be the  legacy, something that endures and continues and adds value to the  community. We’re hoping 2026 can be a catalyst for the same kind of  change.” And, local officials hope, a financial boon for area businesses.