One Billion Dollar Insurance and 'Presidential' Air Mobilization for Argentina-Spain Final

Ibrahim bin Mohammed from Riyadh

Sunday, July 19, 2026, 13:59 | 2 minutes read

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, is bracing today, Sunday, to host the final match of the 2026 World Cup between Argentina and Spain, in an event that crowns the largest World Cup edition in history, which included 48 teams and lasted 39 days, amidst security measures allocated with billion-dollar budgets and classified as the highest federal emergency levels.

US authorities announced raising the security readiness level to 'Level 1 for Special Events', the highest rating that grants the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense (Pentagon), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) exceptional powers to manage an enhanced security cordon involving more than 400 local and federal law enforcement agencies, especially after the White House officially announced the presence of US President Donald Trump at the final match to participate in the trophy presentation ceremony.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, 'President Trump’s attendance will crown what has become known as the most-watched, safest, and most successful edition in the history of the World Cup on American soil.'

Reports revealed that the total cost of securing the tournament amounted to about one billion dollars in federal support, including allocating $500 million to combat drones, while the governments of New York and New Jersey alone spent approximately $503 million to cover transportation costs and overtime hours for police officers, in addition to a special federal grant of $8.5 million directed directly to law enforcement agencies in New Jersey and Bergen County to secure the perimeter of MetLife Stadium.

The Secret Service imposed strict restrictions on movement; personal cars or pedestrians were completely banned from approaching the stadium area, and fans were forced to use officially approved public transportation, amidst the deployment of thousands of security personnel supported by snipers on rooftops and intensive air cover including F-16 fighter jets to protect the region's airspace.

FBI Special Agent Adam Kachia-Patel revealed the activation of a live aerial surveillance system to combat drones after security agencies managed to seize and confiscate more than 600 illegal drones operated by hobbyists in prohibited airspace near stadiums throughout the tournament, stressing that the joint operations center in New York is monitoring the situation moment by moment to secure the sky of the final.