A New Jersey congressman plans to introduce an amendment to the upcoming Homeland Security spending package to allocate $620 million for additional security at the 2026 World Cup games including the finals at Met Life Stadium.
In addition, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., proposed two measures to ban undetectable weapons and help state and local agencies search for weapons at the games and other events.
“Hosting the World Cup is exciting and I’m glad Jersey got it,” Gottheimer said Thursday at a stadium in Hackensack. “It will be a major security undertaking on all levels … 78 matches across the country, we want to make sure they are all safe.”
FIFA announced the World Cup 2026 Final games will be hosted by New Jersey and New York City at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford earlier this year.
The funding would cover costs for additional World Cup security at transit facilities and on the local level, Gottheimer said.
“We want to make sure local governments don’t have to take on those costs themselves,” he said.
The proposal on undetectable firearms would extend existing legislation that expires in 2031 to permanently ban gun and weapons made with 3-D printers, ghost guns and other non-metallic weapons that screening at stadiums and concert venues wouldn’t detect.
“We can’t allow these guns to circulate and potentially pop up at public venues,” Gottheimer said. “This is an issue we can all get behind, the best way is get these guns off street and out of venues.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
