North Texas Lands $61 Million in Federal Funds for FIFA World Cup 2026

Up to 150,000 visitors could flood the Dallas-Fort Worth region on a single World Cup match day. Preparing for that volume just received $61 million in federal backing.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments announced March 26 that it will manage and distribute more than $61 million in federal funds to support safety, security, operations and transit for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The award is part of FEMA's broader $625 million national grant program for host regions, supplemented by additional funding from the Federal Transit Administration.

The package splits into two streams: $51.5 million flows through FEMA's security-readiness grant program, while roughly $10 million comes from the Federal Transit Administration to support transit improvements and operations on match days. NCTCOG will administer the distribution to local governments and transportation agencies across the region, including Collin County cities such as Plano, Frisco and McKinney.

For those cities, the funding's most immediate effect lands in planning, not construction. NCTCOG's announcement referenced match-day travel outlooks projecting heavier roadway traffic near stadium corridors, longer travel times and surging transit ridership on game days. Spending priorities outlined by the agency include security staffing, surveillance, intelligence-sharing systems, incident command coordination, and expanded transit workforce and equipment.

Collin County residents can expect more visible preparations in the months ahead: expanded real-time transit messaging, enhanced police-transit coordination on match days, and broader public outreach around travel timing. Regional roadway corridors will bear the brunt of traffic impacts, with contingency operations built into the planning framework NCTCOG is now putting in place.

The arrival of federal dollars marks a turn from conceptual to operational planning for a tournament that will put North Texas in front of a global audience. Local elected officials and transit agencies will now receive distribution guidance from NCTCOG, with the tournament approaching fast.