Saline County could feel the effects of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City as early as March, according to a report delivered to the County Commission on Tuesday.
Michelle Weis, Saline County Emergency Management Director, presented potential impacts during her third quarter update, explaining that local officials are actively preparing for the international sporting event's regional influence.
"The state's been telling us that if you are within 200 miles of a host site, you can imagine that you will have spectators that probably couldn't participate in either FIFA FanFest or the actual match," Weis told commissioners.
According to Weis, Kansas City will only host international matches between countries outside of North America, as Canada, the United States, and Mexico have already been assigned their match locations. Saline County officials will learn which specific countries will compete in Kansas City on December 15.
The Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) has been discussing several potential challenges, including:
- Accommodation demands, as visitors may seek lodging in Salina due to limited hotel options between Dickinson County and Kansas City
- Health standards and potential communicable diseases from international visitors
- Cultural impacts for law enforcement
- Resource sharing through mutual aid requests
Weis noted that northeast Kansas authorities might request assistance from other regions, describing the World Cup as "a six-week event consecutively that you will be looking at an impact to the state of Kansas."
Under mutual aid agreements, expenses for local first responders would be placed on the host community. While jurisdictions can typically deny requests if they lack staffing or resources, Weis indicated state officials are encouraging discussions with governing bodies about supporting the event.
"On the back end they've been stressing a lot is for us to start having these conversations with our governing bodies to know that they don't have the ability to fill that need and they're hoping and looking to the rest of the state to fill that," Weis explained.
The county is planning several exercises in preparation, including:
- A joint information center exercise in December
- A general tabletop exercise with the LEPC in February
- A medical surge exercise in February focusing on communicable diseases
