Daniel Perez, one of Florida’s most powerful Republican politicians, is urging Miami-Dade officials to reconsider a plan to spend up to $46 million to host seven World Cup soccer matches in 2026, saying no public funds should go to the “elites of FIFA.”
Perez, a Miami-Dade resident and the incoming speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, says he is against a county resolution authorizing Miami-Dade to pay World Cup organizers up to $21 million in cash support and provide free government services worth up to $25 million for the events, with the bulk of it covering “in-kind” or donated public safety staff expenses.
“I am opposing all of it,” Perez told the Miami Herald in an interview Thursday. “I don’t think that $46 million, whether it is in cash or in-kind, should be used toward FIFA when we have so many needs in our county.”
His stance is likely to put more pressure on county government officials who are scheduled to vote on the resolution next week. Perez’s interview came days after the county’s Democratic mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, also expressed concern about the price tag to host the major sporting event.
“While we know the World Cup matches will generate increased tax revenues with millions of visitors coming to participate in the excitement, the amount of the county obligation is significant,” Levine Cava said in a statement Monday. “I have concerns about the proposed resolution.”
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When Levine Cava helped pursue the Miami area’s bid to host the World Cup games, decisions on public spending were left for after the host slot was secured. At the time, cost estimates for the host area went as high as $100 million.
Perez said those financial decisions should face more scrutiny in the future.
“Did we truly think about where we were going to get this money from? Or did we just submit a bid and say we will worry about it later,” Perez said. “If it is the latter, then I am concerned about the leadership that is making that decision.”
The price tag estimated to host the World Cup matches is well above what the county said it paid the last time it hosted the Super Bowl in Miami Gardens. For that 2020 game, Miami-Dade approved about $10 million in support, including cash subsidies, donated police hours, waived permit fees and other costs.
For the World Cup events, the public funds would be paid to the Greater Miami Sports Commission, a nonprofit that is helping to organize the events and was formed to submit the county’s bid. Then, that organization would distribute it to organizers of the FIFA 2026 World Cup. According to the World Cup legislation, the organizers expect a “substantial increase in public safety and security costs” over a standard stadium event.
The seven World Cup soccer matches, which will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens between June 15 and July 18 in 2026, would be bigger than the Super Bowl and it is expected to draw about 600,000 visitors. The World Cup funding item, sponsored by County Commission Chair Oliver Gilbert, a Democrat, claims the matches will pump more than $500 million into the local economy.
“The way that it is written right now, I don’t believe it should pass,” Perez said. “I would hope it would get voted down because it is not in the best interest of the county.”
Miami Herald reporter Douglas Hanks contributed to this report.
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