The FBI has intercepted more than 300 unauthorized drones near FIFA World Cup 2026 venues across the United States in the first ten days of the tournament, federal officials confirmed Monday.
The FBI's Los Angeles field office confirmed the overall figure to reporters, adding that its own agents have seized 34 drones over World Cup facilities centered on SoFi Stadium. The Dallas field office reported 39 seizures at the city's fan fest and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, while the Philadelphia office seized 42 drones at Lincoln Financial Field. In New Jersey, the Newark office reported six seizures near MetLife Stadium since kickoff at the tournament's June 11 opening.
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, told reporters that all 78 matches taking place in the United States have counter-drone protection in place, as do fan fests in every host city. Counter-drone capabilities include jamming technology that can bring unauthorized aircraft down from the sky.
The seizure count represents the concrete enforcement result of a $500 million domestic counter-drone initiative launched in October 2025 and more than 100 Temporary Flight Restrictions the FAA put in place over stadiums and team hotels.
Drone operators who enter restricted airspace without authorization can face fines of up to $100,000, drone confiscation, and federal criminal charges. The FAA launched its Drone Expedited and Targeted Enforcement Response, or DETER, initiative specifically to accelerate identification and prosecution of World Cup airspace violations.
The restrictions create a trap for even credentialed operators: the stadium restricted zones run three nautical miles wide and up to 3,000 feet on match days, and a Part 107 certificate or prior authorization means nothing inside an active Temporary Flight Restriction. The grounding of legitimate commercial operators became severe enough that the FAA added a Department of Homeland Security authorization path less than two weeks after the zones took effect, with requests now routed to drones@dhs.gov.
The World Cup group stage continues through June 27, with knockout rounds beginning June 28 and the championship match scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
