SPOTLIGHT: 39 Days, 11 Cities: The World Cup Workforce
The hiring surge, labor fights, and workforce pressures behind the world's biggest sporting event.
FIFA and the White House project big numbers. Independent economists say look closer.
FIFA, in a study conducted with the World Trade Organization, estimates the tournament will generate $17.2 billion in U.S. GDP and 185,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the U.S. alone. The White House FIFA 2026 Task Force puts the combined economic contribution of the World Cup and last year's FIFA Club World Cup at $62 billion.
Goldman Sachs projects the tournament will add 40,000 jobs to U.S. payrolls in June, gain 10,000 in July, then decline 15,000 in August as temporary positions end, with further reversals in the months that follow.
S&P Global Market Intelligence concluded the tournament is unlikely to produce a measurable effect on national economic data, pointing to substitution effects, crowding out of non-attendees, economic leakages, and the sheer size of the U.S. economy relative to the spending surge.
Host cities agreed to cover hundreds of millions of dollars in security, transportation, stadium modification, and other costs while receiving no share of FIFA's ticket sales, merchandise revenue, or parking income.
FIFA is projected to generate approximately $11 billion in profits. Former Houston finance director Kelly Dowe said cities are often simply "glad to break even."
Read more via White House, Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, S&P Global, FIFA/GoalEconomy, FSG Journal, American Bazaar Online
The May jobs report told part of the story. What's happening in host cities tells the rest.
The U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May, more than double the consensus estimate; leisure and hospitality accounted for 70,000 of those jobs, a jump from an average monthly gain of 14,000 over the prior year.
Hospitality job postings in the 11 U.S. host metros rose 30.3% in May versus the January-April average, while non-host markets fell 23.8%; Philadelphia led at 83%, followed by Boston at 61%, Atlanta at 55%, Houston at 54%, and Dallas-Fort Worth at 40%.
Not all operators are moving: a downtown Los Angeles restaurant owner said she is not hiring despite partnering with FIFA, and several Houston restaurant owners are holding off, waiting to see if crowds materialize.
Dallas-based rideshare company Alto is hiring hundreds of new W-2 drivers per week; Uber, Lyft, and shuttle service Shutto are also expanding in the Dallas-Houston corridor; American Airlines added more than 28,000 domestic seats and over 30,000 total in direct response to tournament demand.
While there appears to be some broadening of job gains and cyclical momentum, leisure and hospitality likely saw a temporary boost from the upcoming World Cup. But as far as momentum goes, it will be fleeting."
Read more via BBC, Bloomberg, Marketplace, Asian Hospitality, CBS Texas, Wall Street Journal, KPMG, MSN/Markets
Two thousand stadium workers in Los Angeles came within days of walking out. What they won says a lot about where labor stands heading into the tournament.
Roughly 2,000 food and beverage workers at SoFi Stadium, represented by Unite Here Local 11, spent months in tense contract negotiations, pushing for higher wages, protections against subcontracting and automation, and commitments around immigration enforcement inside the stadium.
In April, the union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the NLRB, alleging operators refused to commit to keeping ICE out and that the agency's presence had chilled workers' Section 7 rights.
On June 9, two days before the opening match, the union announced a tentative deal: most workers will earn more than $40 per hour, tip workers will see at least a 30% pay increase, and the deal includes premium pay for World Cup and Super Bowl events, automation protections, and an ongoing contribution toward housing for hospitality workers.
Separately, the Houston host committee is requiring all vendor companies to pay a minimum of $15 per hour, and FIFA is requiring every host committee to release a human rights plan covering labor rights, inclusion and diversity, and human trafficking prevention.
This is a historic agreement. Economically, it is the strongest agreement at any NFL stadium. We won massive raises. Most workers will earn more than $40 an hour and many will earn substantially more. Tip workers will see their pay increase by at least 30%. We won premium pay for the World Cup and the Super Bowl. We won major protections against subcontracting and automation."
Read more via ABC7, LA Mag, Archpaper, SHRM
In Kansas City, the World Cup's traffic management plan collided directly with construction workers' paychecks.
Road projects in the Kansas City metro could face pauses of up to 40 days; the Heavy Constructors Association warned that up to 25,600 workers — roughly 80% of its regional workforce — could be sent home at the height of construction season, when many live paycheck to paycheck.
MoDOT confirmed work requiring lane closures would be paused but off-roadway construction would continue; KDOT said projects not requiring lane closures could proceed; as of early June, no compromise had been reached on allowing construction to continue on non-match days.
Forty days is a long time to not be doing any infrastructure … You need to think about the impact that this has on your local communities and the people who live here. It is critical to the well-being of our cities that people remain working."
Read more via FOX4 KC
Securing a 39-day, 11-city tournament is unlike anything local law enforcement has done before. Most departments are doing it shorthanded.
More than 400 law enforcement agencies are coordinating with the federal government and private security firms across the 11 U.S. host cities; host cities received $625 million in federal grants for overtime and security costs, plus $250 million specifically for anti-drone technology.
Police departments across host cities have been dealing with a wave of officer departures since 2020; Washington state ranks last in the nation for officers per capita for the 15th consecutive year, Philadelphia has more than 1,000 vacancies, and Atlanta PD carries a $24 million overtime budget for the tournament.
Massachusetts activated up to 85 National Guard personnel at stadium perimeters; Fort Worth deployed nearly 100 officers across three shifts for all 39 days with no vacation permitted; in New York, NYPD Commissioner Tisch is pushing for 12-hour shifts on top of the department's already near-$1 billion overtime budget.
At airports, more than 1,100 TSA agents departed during the recent DHS shutdown; with training taking roughly four months, there will be no significant new personnel before World Cup travel peaks.
This entire country's police force is leaning in. It is an unbelievable problem set when I think about what local law enforcement is going to have to go over this 40-day stretch. It is unprecedented."
We want to make sure our officers are mentally prepared to handle the long 39 days this is going to be."
Read more via ESPN, FOX13 Seattle, NBC DFW, Atlanta News First, The National, Politico, NBC DFW Investigations
For the vast majority of employers, the World Cup is not a staffing opportunity. It is a productivity and attendance management problem.
A UKG survey of 8,000 employees estimates the tournament could cost global employers at least $17 billion in lost productivity, including $11.7 billion in the U.S.; 37% plan to adjust their schedule, 27% are likely to miss work entirely or in part, 14% plan to secretly stream matches, and 11% plan to work while hungover.
19% say they would consider looking for a new job if their work schedule negatively affects their World Cup experience; managers are significantly more likely than individual contributors to request time off or last-minute flexibility, meaning the people responsible for coverage are also the most likely to need it.
For employers in host cities, SHRM recommends remote work for those who can use it, adjusted shift times, compressed workweeks, and on-site meal options; both the Ontario government and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management have issued temporary telework guidance for host city employees.
Bracket challenges, watch parties, and streaming games in break rooms can reduce absenteeism while building morale; team-building events should be offered across all locations, not just host cities, to avoid a two-tier experience.
When absenteeism and presenteeism hit at scale, the effect is immediate and expensive. Productivity drops, customer experience suffers, and morale takes a hit as the rest of the team is left to cover the gaps."
You can't stop people from watching. They'll sit at their desk and watch it on their screens."
Read more via Reuters, BusinessWire/UKG, HR Executive, Staffing Industry Analysts, The Independent, SHRM, CBC, Federal News Network
The event creates real compliance exposure. Employers hiring temporary workers, hosting watch parties, or deploying staff to host cities need to know where the risks are.
The U.S. Department of Labor is offering compliance resources specifically for employers in the 11 host cities, including updated hospitality toolkits and wage and hour division specialists available locally. Employers who find potential violations can use the PAID program to self-correct without litigation. The key risk areas:
Worker misclassification is the most common error; calling a worker an independent contractor does not make them one — federal agencies look at who sets the schedule, provides training, and supervises the work.
Overtime rules do not pause for major events; non-exempt employees must receive time-and-a-half for hours beyond 40 per week, and pre-shift briefings and post-shift duties may also be compensable.
Staffing agencies do not transfer liability; businesses exercising operational control over agency workers may still qualify as joint employers, sharing liability for wage violations, harassment claims, and workplace injuries.
Form I-9 scrutiny will be elevated; employers must verify consistently and cannot impose additional document demands based on nationality or perceived immigration status.
Nonexempt employees who watch matches while on duty may be entitled to pay for that time; workplace betting pools carry legal risk and sensitivity concerns; employers must also monitor conduct for inappropriate comments tied to national origin or team rivalries.
Read more via DOL, SHRM, StartSmart Counsel
U.S. immigration policy is already shaping who gets to participate in the tournament — as players, referees, staff, and fans.
Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a Somali referee named the best in Africa in 2025, landed in Miami, was detained, placed in a holding cell, and deported back to Turkey; Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained for several hours at O'Hare before being cleared, while a team photographer was denied entry.
Iran's national team relocated its lodging to Mexico after being barred from staying overnight on U.S. soil; more than a dozen support staff were denied visas, and the Iranian soccer federation was barred from selling tickets to its own supporters due to U.S. sanctions.
39 countries are under a full or partial U.S. travel ban; four of those countries — Iran, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal — are competing in the tournament; more than 40 Moroccan fan association members were denied visas despite holding tickets, and scores of journalists from the Middle East and Africa could not get clearance.
The cost of entry has risen: ESTA authorization nearly doubled from $21 to $40, tourist visa fees rose to $185, and some African visitors may face visa bonds of $5,000 to $15,000.
This matters for the workforce picture because FIFA's own model assumes foreign tourists will account for 54% of total event expenditure; access barriers that reduce international attendance directly hit the hospitality, transportation, and food service jobs those projections are built on.
Read more via NPR, New York Times, FSG Journal
The World Cup's hiring surge is also a trafficking risk. Authorities across North America say the conditions are already in place.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime warns that major sporting events consistently create conditions for trafficking to escalate, with sudden labor demand in hospitality, construction, cleaning, security, and transportation creating openings for exploitation.
In Mexico, federal officials flagged fraudulent job offers on social media and messaging apps promising immediate hiring, high salaries, and paid travel; scammers also impersonated a FIFA employment recruiter on LinkedIn.
Canada's anti-money-laundering agency urged companies to monitor labor-intensive sectors including hospitality, construction, and security; the U.S. Treasury Department urged financial institutions in host cities to watch for transactions tied to sex and labor trafficking.
Training campaigns are underway across North America to prepare frontline workers to recognize and report signs of exploitation; FIFA's required human rights plans for each host committee specifically include human trafficking prevention.
Read more via OCCRP, SHRM, CBS Texas
The jobs created for the World Cup are real. So is what happens to them on July 20.
Goldman Sachs projects payrolls will rise 40,000 above trend in June, gain 10,000 in July, then drop 15,000 in August, with further reversals to follow; S&P Global notes that effects of major sporting events are typically temporary and concentrated in host city accommodation, food services, and transportation.
Mexico City is the only host jurisdiction to have directly addressed the post-tournament question: the city's Ministry of Labor projects 50,000 to 100,000 temporary jobs and is using training programs and employer partnerships to try to convert some into permanent positions, against a restaurant sector with annual turnover exceeding 80%.
FIFA's own employment model assumes 40% of the event's workforce consists of temporary, low-skilled workers earning below the national average wage — which is another way of saying the tournament was always designed around a workforce that would not outlast it.
Read more via Goldman Sachs via Investing.com, Bloomberg/Barclays, S&P Global, Mexico Business News, FIFA/GoalEconomy
