How U.S. mass shootings could hurt 2026 World Cup bottom line

The World Cup is coming to the U.S. in a little more than three years. Meanwhile, crime-ridden Venezuela — not a friend — has recommended its citizens avoid travel to the U.S. because of the “proliferation of acts of violence and indiscriminate hate crimes.” Even Amnesty International, the human rights watchdog best known for standing up to despots and criminal regimes, has issued warnings about the dangers of traveling to the U.S. That’s not exactly the kind of environment that’s likely to prove welcoming for soccer fans — or anyone else. Still, Alan Rothenberg, who organized the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., the best-attended and most successful in history, believes gun violence will have only a marginal effect on the 2026 tournament. “While gun violence is horrible and the lack of action by Congress to enact meaningful gun control is inexcusable, it will have minimal impact, if any, on international travel to the United States for the 2026 World Cup,” said Rothenberg, chairman of the sports marketing agency Playfly Premier Partnerships and an advisor to several 2026 host cities. An early estimate pushed by U.S. Soccer before the tournament expanded to 104 games said the aggregate economic impact of hosting the 2026 World Cup in North America could reach as much as $5 billion, including the support of roughly 40,000 jobs.