U.S. Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Illinois 16) has been a member of the Congressional Soccer Caucus since he entered the United States House of Representatives in 2015. He has been a co-chair of the Soccer Caucus since 2017. 

We spoke with Rep. LaHood about the federal government’s role in the USA’s co-hosting of the 2026 World Cup — and about the possible impact of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

• Soccer America has also published a 2026 World Cup op-ed by Rep. LaHood that can be read HERE.

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SA: How did you become so enthusiastic about soccer?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: As a youngster, I grew up playing a lot of basketball and traditional sports, but my wife and I have three boys. My oldest son played college soccer at DePaul University for four years, and then he played in Costa Rica for two summers, too.

When my kids started getting into it, I got very involved. Then I have nine colleges and universities in my district with men’s and women’s soccer.  

And with the U.S. Soccer Federation being based in Chicago, 10 years ago, when I first got elected, I became kind of their conduit to D.C. on getting stuff done. 

When they needed help on immigration issues, if they needed to talk to somebody in the administration, if they wanted to meet with the Qataris, I helped organize it for them. So I’ve worked a lot with Neil Buethe and Brian Remedi, Dan Flynn (photo below) and JT Batson, and obviously [presidents] Sunil Gulati, Carlos Cordeiro and now Cindy Parlow Cone. I got to know them and we’ve been their go-to office when they need stuff.

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SA: And you’re the co-chair of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, along with Rick Larson (WA-02), Kathy Castor (FL-14), and Don Bacon (NE-02) …

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: I got elected in 2015 and became a member of the Soccer Caucus. When Congressman Todd Young (Indiana) got elected to the U.S. Senate, he had to give up the Soccer Caucus co-chair, so I took over for him in 2017.

SA: Earlier this month came the announcement of the launch of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 …

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: That will be completely separate. The Soccer Caucus is just members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats. We have roughly 40 members now. It’s been as low as 20, but the World Cup has spiked interest. The Soccer Caucus just pertains to the legislative branch. The co-chairs worked heavily on the World Cup bid back in 2017, 2018. 

And we raise money through a charity game every year for youth soccer. We’ve worked on a lot of youth soccer issues and some legislation related to Safe Sport and other priorities, working with mostly the U.S. Soccer Federation and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, but also a little bit with FIFA.

SA: FIFA controls all the major World Cup 2026 revenue streams, while placing a significant financial burden on the host cities for costs including security. Can you address the request for $625 million in federal funding for the 11 venues?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: I was on the letter with Congressman Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey), who’s a Democrat. I’m a Republican. It’s a request to the House Appropriations Committee for roughly $625 million that would go to the host cities for security, logistics, planning for the 11 host cities.

Now whether that money comes through or not will be dependent on a number of things. One will be, does the administration weigh in and support that request — or maybe it will be something less than that. 

But I would also just make the observation from my own experience of seeing the 11 host cities: All of them are different in many ways, their structure, their governance, their ability. 

Some of them get it and know, “Hey, we can’t count on FIFA for anything, we’re going to have to raise this money on our own and set up everything.” And I think a number of cities are going to be just fine. They’ve done stuff like this in the past. Others, not so much. 

There are some real concerns that they just think, “Oh, the federal government’s going to come in and give us money, and everything else will be solved.”

The uniqueness of 11 host cities, where there’s not some formality on how they’re set up, or how they’re structured, has led to a little bit of confusion. 

Frankly, I think we’re a little behind the eight ball, because in my view, no one in the Biden administration was appropriately focused, because they were focused on the election. They weren’t necessarily focused on the buildout of 2026.

Now I think FIFA has appropriately pushed the Trump administration. So the announcement of the Task Force, and an executive director who I think will be named shortly, is a step in the right direction.

Then figuring out what funding sources can be approved by Congress, what is actually needed. And then there’s a lot of issues that the Soccer Caucus has been involved in, such as the visas.

SA: Iran has qualified for the 2026 World Cup …

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: How do Iranians come to the United States? It’s not easy, right? How we appropriately vet fans from countries that aren’t part of our reciprocal program already is going to be very, very difficult. 

Those are some of the issues. And there are intricate issues. What to do about drones and air cover to help out. I serve on our House Intelligence Committee, and obviously we’re involved with this aspect of it, of security. There are lots of complicated issues on this. Again, I would make the observation that the 11 host cities are unique and different in many ways. 

For instance, Boston, Massachusetts, they already have a security plan in place, using their state troopers, using their local police, maybe some help from the feds. Could they use supplemental funding? Yes, but I think there’s also an acknowledgement that, depending on how the city is structured, there’s going to be a huge economic benefit. 

I’m sure you saw the announcement from the White House  —  and I’m not sure where they got this number — that there would be a $40 billion economic plus for the United States. Most of that money is going to go to restaurants and hotels, travel and all those things. But a lot of these cities have tax mechanisms in place where some of that money goes to security and goes into funds and things like that. 

Editor’s note: The New York Times reported that FIFA president Gianni Infantino “claimed that the Club World Cup in 2025 and World Cup in 2026 will have a $40bn economic impact for the U.S.“

SA: The funding request comes amid Elon Musk/DOGE making massive cuts in federal funding …

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: Yeah. That’s part of the problem, right? I mean, that’s part of what we’ll have to navigate. That’s why I think it becomes important if the White House is on board, particularly the Task Force, advocating for this money, because they know they’re going to need resources, too. I think that will make it easier.

SA: There are concerns that long visa wait times and rigid immigration rules will make it difficult for fans to travel to the USA — or between host countries. There are reports that could deter visitors: Such as people from countries with visa-free travel to the USA, like Germany, Canada and France, being detained when they’ve visited Mexico and tried to return to the USA. Are you concerned about the ability for visitors from various countries to come to the USA for the World Cup or travel between the host nations?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: I’m not. I think we’ll get this right in the end. I think there are a lot of smart right people in our security agencies and in logistics that will get this right. I mean, we have to, right? Doing it with three countries, as you know, is unique. It hasn’t been done before, but I think we’ll have an appropriate plan in place to make it a seamless transition between the three countries.

SA: Are you concerned about co-host collaboration with Canada considering acrimony sparked by the Republican White House with threats of annexation and talk of it becoming the 51st state? Canadians are extremely upset about the USA’s attitude toward Canada by the Trump administration.

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: There’s been a number of things raised between the two countries, from tariffs to trade … some of the rhetoric back and forth. But the answer is, in my view, no. I mean this is a sporting event that I think will be insulated from politics or should be. I think sports fans and each country realize the benefits and the ramifications of having the World Cup.

SA: Besides news of border detentions, there are reports that foreign tourism to the USA is decreasing because Trump is treating so many countries including traditional allies as adversaries. Do you think that that too will be overcome?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: We’re having this conversation on April 1 of 2025. The World Cup —  it’ll be here before you know it — but we’re still 15 months away, so a lot can change politically and otherwise, between now and then. And I think once the competition heats up with countries qualifying, the nature of people following their team and wanting to win and the opportunity to come to the United States — I think the sport will transcend any politics. So I’m not concerned about that at this point.

SA: Immigrant communities are a major part of American soccer at every level. Reading about Ronald Reagan hailing from your area of Illinois had me recall that Reagan while a Republican President signed an immigration reform act that granted amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants leading to their legal residency. Now Republican leaders address immigration policy in severe acrimonious terms. Is that a concern of yours as someone who’s involved in soccer and understands that immigrants are a big part of our community?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: Yes, it’s always something to be concerned about. But I would also acknowledge our democratic system … you look at the election last year: One thing that never changed in the polling was the No. 1 issues were illegal immigration and the economy. Seventy percent of the people thought the country was headed in the wrong direction. 

We can argue about what should have been done differently or how we address it, but I think there was a real frustration. For Trump to win all seven [battleground] states and to win the popular vote, and to win a record amount of African-American male votes — the voters kind of spoke. We can talk about what was the reason for that, but a big part of that was illegal immigration. 

Now, I think if we are not thoughtful about it, if we are callous about it, if we don’t approach it the right way, then I think that could have a blowback. But I think the vast majority of people understood that we had to do something different.

SA: Of course immigration policy is something that always needs to be addressed, but they do by demonizing immigrants …

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: When the World Cup was in Russia, what Putin had done in Crimea, or had done in Georgia, or had done in Syria, did that affect it? I don’t know. Maybe it did with some of the fans. Again, I think sports and the World Cup have a way of transcending politics. The atmosphere we’re in right now, Mike, I don’t think it’s going to affect things. Now, if that changes, and it goes to a whole another level between now and the World Cup next year …  but I think if tickets went on sale today, I think it would be a massive, massive success, for sure.

SA: You went to the World Cup in Qatar?

REP. DARIN LAHOOD: Yes, it was my first one. I actually went twice. I went the week of Thanksgiving, and then the final match. President Biden invited two members of Congress to go and so I was selected to go as the Republican representative for the final match. I also took my son to the Euros last summer.

SA: In Qatar all the venues were within a 22-mile radius. Quite a difference from the 2026 World Cup …