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Time Out is a podcast focused on current issues in sport leadership, performance, and health with a wide range of experts and industry leaders. This podcast is offered by the School of Sport Sciences in West Virginia University’s College of Applied Human Sciences.
NEW MINI-Series: World Cup 2026 – Expert Perspectives on the Global Game”
In this series, Dr. Gonzalo Bravo, Director of the Global Sports and Performance Center in the WVU School of Sport Sciences, talks with leading voices from across the global game exploring the inner workings, emerging challenges, and broader impact of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Please note, these interviews were recorded two months prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Gonzalo Bravo: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to the podcast of the Global Sport and Performance Center at West Virginia University. My name is Gonzalo Rabo, I'm a professor of Sport Management in the School of Sport Science and the director of the Global Sport and Performance Center at West Virginia University.
Gonzalo Bravo: Today is the third episode of the podcast World Cup 2026,
Gonzalo Bravo: expert perspective on the global game. In this episode, we plan to explore the behind the scenes of what it takes to produce sport events of this magnitude, from turf technology to smart stadiums to compliant with FIFA regulations.
Gonzalo Bravo: The organizing committee for this tournament involves many stakeholders, including FIFA, which oversees the overall governance of the competitions, event operations, and commercial strategy.
Gonzalo Bravo: A U.S. task force coordinated through the White House, which manages issues such as security and immigration policies, and a group of 16 host city local organizing committees that are responsible for ensuring the success of matches in each venue.
Gonzalo Bravo: Their responsibilities include fan safety, crisis management, planning, and preparation for extreme weather events, among many other operational demands.
Gonzalo Bravo: All of this requires close coordinations and highly specialized expertise. There is little room for improvisations when staging sporting events of this magnitude, as every detail must be carefully planned and executed by experienced professionals.
Gonzalo Bravo: Our guest today is John Terry, Vice President of Events at the U.S. Soccer Federation. In his role, John oversees the coordinations of events operations for the U.S. men's and women's national team matches, including venue operations, field and tour management, security, and overall facility operations.
Gonzalo Bravo: John earned both his bachelor's and master's degree in sport management from West Virginia University.
Gonzalo Bravo: Prior to joining the U.S. Soccer Federation, he competed internships in facility operations at WVU Athletic Departments and at the U.S. Olympic Committee Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Gonzalo Bravo: John spent 6 years at the University of Washington in event and football operations. From there, he moved to the U.S. Soccer Federation, where he progressed from manager to senior manager before advancing to his current role as vice president of events. Good afternoon, John. Welcome to this podcast.
John Terry: Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Gonzalo Bravo: It is always a pleasure to have you. Thank you for joining us and for sharing your expertise regarding Benny operation and helping us to better understand the many complexities involved in staging international soccer matches.
Gonzalo Bravo: So…
Gonzalo Bravo: Before we dive into the specifics of Benny Operations, John, could you first tell us a bit more about your backgrounds and how you came to your current role at the U.S. Soccer Federations?
John Terry: Yeah, of course, and always good to… always good to talk to you. It all started in Morgantown, and as you mentioned, I got a couple of degrees there in sport management, and really decided that I loved the behind-the-scenes
John Terry: stuff that goes into sporting events, the stuff that no one sees, but is crucially important. Thought I was going to be in college athletics for my career, and moved out to Seattle, worked at the University of Washington, where
John Terry: I managed a ton of different events, from men's soccer, to gymnastics, to men's basketball, to football games, eventually, overseeing our security there, as well as Husky Stadium, which…
John Terry: is one of the largest, stadiums in the state of Washington. Started to really understand facility management, event management, and really all of the different aspects that go into holding a major event.
John Terry: And, after about 5 years there, really kind of got drawn to soccer. And I wanted to find a way to work in soccer, whether it was a Major League Soccer team, internationally. I just wanted to get in the sport, because I thought it was a growth sport.
John Terry: And, got a job at U.S. Soccer, managing our national team games, and, have managed…
John Terry: over probably 150 or 200 different games at this point, and obviously now find myself in a role where I oversee all of our men's and women's national team games, I oversee our scheduling and contract negotiation for venues.
John Terry: I also oversee all of our special events, so every event that takes place outside of the playing field is under my purview, which is sometimes just as important and or high profile as the games themselves. And also oversee our ticketing function, as well. So,
John Terry: Yeah, I mean, it's… over the years, I've just gotten a lot of experience in understanding how events work, and, you know, I always say that
John Terry: our jobs are easiest on a match day when we're bored, because it means we've done our jobs preparing for the event. We have to prepare for all of the different contingencies, and hope that none of our preparations are used.
John Terry: Right? We want it to be smooth and easy and no issues, and so, our job is to react to situ… other than planning.
John Terry: is to react to situations when they arise, and try to stay calm and make the best decision possible, given the information that we have in the moment. So, that is the only way you can prepare for that, is years of experience, and there are still situations to this day that I've never seen before.
John Terry: But, you know, you try to make the best decision possible and go from there.
Gonzalo Bravo: That's a great overview of your journey and experience. With that context in mind, let's turn to the scale of what's ahead for this World Cup and the venues involved.
Gonzalo Bravo: Can you tell us about the venues that will be part of this World Cup? There are 16 in total, 11 in the United States, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada, ranking in capacity from approximately 94,000 at AT&T stadiums
Gonzalo Bravo: to about 45,000 at BMO Field in Toronto. What makes these venues unique? Have you recently worked at any of them?
John Terry: Yeah, the slate of venues this year has got to be one of the most unique to ever see a World Cup. I mean, if you look at, other World Cups that have taken place, a lot of times the venues have to be built for the World Cup.
John Terry: Or the World Cup is the reason a new building gets built. In this case, many of these… all of these venues already existed, and, hosted mega events before, and what's so unique is very few of them
John Terry: are soccer-specific venues. When you look at the historical context of a World Cup.
John Terry: Many of the time, soccer is the main sport that takes place in World Cup venues. That is not the case here. And so, a lot of work has had to be done to make these venues, able to host a World Cup. The other interesting thing about these venues is not all of them are natural grass venues.
John Terry: And so, there is a ton of work that has to be done, in order to make
John Terry: the venues that are typically artificial turf, so AT&T Stadium, MetLife Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, NRG Stadium, SoFi Stadium, Lumen Field, Gillette Stadium, in the US, and then obviously BC Place in Vancouver, all have to have grass installed.
John Terry: And the grass has to be the best grass in the world, and it has to…
John Terry: be amazing and world-class for more than a month. And so, the uniqueness of that is really important. I think the other interesting thing about these venues, and primarily the venues in America.
John Terry: is that…
John Terry: America is ahead when it comes to premium experiences at sporting events. And so, if you look at a place like SoFi Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, right, these venues are made up of a lot of high-end premium areas.
John Terry: And that doesn't always fit into the construct that FIFA wants. FIFA likes to come in and really standardize the different experience. They have a hospitality experience, they have a VVIP hospitality experience, and FIFA is used to coming into these venues and building out
John Terry: hospitality experiences, and not really used to dealing with the level of built-out premium areas that we have here in the United States. You know, in the United States, at most of these stadiums, one of the premium seats is these field-level seats that are right on the field, right? Think of an NFL game
John Terry: you're standing, basically, on the bench with the players. And that's going to… a lot of those for this World Cup aren't able to be used because of the field installs, because of the grass, the grass that is being installed at a… and we'll talk about that here in a little bit, of it's being installed at an elevation, so those…
John Terry: you can't use those seats, so it's just a very unique, unique World Cup. We've played games, at a few of these stadiums.
John Terry: Most recently, in mid-April, we played a women's game out at Lumen Field in Seattle. We historically don't play there a ton because it's artificial turf, and we need to play on natural grass for our national teams.
John Terry: But they had… FIFA has already installed the grass pitch, and so we were actually the first game on the grass pitch that will be used during the World Cup. And just a cool stadium, a cool city. I think it's gonna be a great… obviously, they host the second, the second, U.S. game, U.S. Men's National Team game in the World Cup.
John Terry: In late March, we had two men's national team games in Atlanta. We played Belgium and Portugal. Again, also, we're playing on the grass surface that will be used at the World Cup this summer.
John Terry: And then about, let's see, in April of 2025,
John Terry: we played at SoFi Stadium, and SoFi Stadium, had installed, test grass. They were trying to test the surface, and so we played there on a natural grass surface as well, so…
John Terry: We've had experience, playing in several of these, you know, the U.S. men or women have played at Lincoln Financial Field at some point, they've played at Levi's Stadium at some point.
John Terry: The men's national team played at NRG Stadium during the Gold Cup, last summer. We've played at MetLife before, so we played at a lot of these venues. But it's, it's just gonna be an incredible.
John Terry: World Cup because of the uniqueness of all of these venues. I mean, the difference between SoFi Stadium and Lumen Field is quite stark.
Gonzalo Bravo: This is fantastic. So, these venues are impressive in scale and diversity. Of course, with that scale comes a major operational responsibility. So, let's move into one of the main challenges in large-scale sporting events, which is security. How can you explain how security is managed during this
Gonzalo Bravo: Specifically during the World Cup.
John Terry: Yeah, I mean, so secure… it's a very layered approach. The one thing that the United States is really, really good at is hosting mega sporting events. No other country
John Terry: host the size and the scale of sporting events that the United States does on a near-daily basis, right? I mean.
John Terry: Everyone's made a lot that the World Cup is gonna be, like, a Super Bowl every day for a month.
John Terry: Right? The U.S. can do that. The U.S. can host a Super Bowl every day for a month. Like, the U.S. is able to do that. If you look at, on an NFL Sunday, the number of stadiums in the United States that have more than 60,000 people, right, that far exceeds European soccer attendance on a daily basis. And so, the U.S, I would say, just in general, is built to hold these mega events. I think.
John Terry: you know, the security model is you have your venue security, you have local law enforcement, you have federal agencies, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and then you have FIFA's own security staff. And each group is layered in and has a specific responsibility.
John Terry: You know, the local, the local security… there have been discussions for months, probably years, on the different security, plans that have been developed for each
John Terry: venue and tabletop exercises, and like I said, hopefully a lot of things that will never have to be used. There will likely be some sort of joint operations center, for each market, and then, you know, FIFA will have a command center that is overseeing all of the… all of the venues itself.
John Terry: You know, local law enforcement will work with FIFA, Department of Homeland Security, FBI on threat level assessments on the day of the game, but also leading up to the game.
John Terry: and, you know, take any action, that is needed. You know, something that the U.S. does that I think other venues don't are, like, the security at U.S. sporting events is very good, and whether it's… I mean, you could make an argument that
John Terry: Security at NFL stadiums is as strict as any stadium in the world in terms of the security perimeters.
John Terry: And needing to… to pass through so many levels of access in order to… to get into the stadium. And so…
John Terry: you know, there's a lot… I think the other thing that will certainly, I would imagine, will be on alert is, ticket fraud and also, like, counterfeit clothing, and unlicensed, unlicensed merchandise. I imagine many local municipalities will be focusing on that.
John Terry: So, look, a lot goes into it. I think, most…
John Terry: My guess is that most Americans are going to be… if someone has been to an NFL game or a major sporting event, whether it's a NCAA Final Four, a Super Bowl, a World Series game, a Formula One race, whatever it might be.
John Terry: it's not going to look that much different, it's just the sheer quantity of this is going to be, is going to be quite a bit.
Gonzalo Bravo: Great.
Gonzalo Bravo: Now, I would like to ask about FIFA regulations and the impact on venues, specifically how different types of matches are managed within these regulations.
Gonzalo Bravo: Given your role at the U.S. Soccer Federations, most of the matches you oversee are FIFA sanctions, am I right?
John Terry: Yeah.
Gonzalo Bravo: What are some key differences between FIFA sanctions and matches and other regular games, for example, an MLS game, in terms of venue requirements and operations?
John Terry: You know, I think that…
John Terry: it's… FIFA has a very… the way FIFA runs their World Cup is they want everything to be as standardized as possible, right? They want every venue to look the same. They want the pitches to be the same size, they want the same amount of space between the sideline and the video LED boards, and then from the video LED boards to the stands.
John Terry: I think that is going to be one of the challenges in the United States, is that a lot of the venues aren't necessarily built for soccer. And so, when we host
John Terry: friendly, there are certain guidelines that we have to follow, mainly in terms of the competition area. So, there are… we have to have a pitch that is no less than 70 yards wide and 110 yards long, but it could be as big as 80 yards wide and as big as 120 yards long.
John Terry: The area around the pitch, we have more leeway. So, you know, even for, like, a FIFA-sanctioned World Cup qualifier or something like that.
John Terry: there are standards in which we have to meet. For example, there has to be a set number of security guards, there has to be a set number of entrances, the lights have to have, enough brightness for television broadcast.
John Terry: However, for FIFA World Cup matches, there's a lot more regulations around the area surrounding the pitch for photographers and broadcasters. You know, for one of our matches, we might have between 30 and 50 credentialed media. For a World Cup match, it could be between 500 and 1,000.
John Terry: credentialed, media.
John Terry: For some of our matches, we might allow fans to sit literally right next to the field. For a World Cup match, because there's a higher security standard, they might push people back, a couple of… a couple of rows.
John Terry: the VIP protocol is a lot different, as well, so at our friendly match, we might not have, you know, National Federation presidents, head of states, etc. I mean, we've had a couple of times when we've come to Washington, D.C, where we've had to work with Secret Service, but…
John Terry: at these matches, it's not going to be uncommon for there to be a head of state in the stadium, and that unlocks a whole host of different, of different concerns. I think, in general, the fundamentals are the same. You're running a soccer match.
John Terry: But the World Cup just kind of amplifies, every dimension by an order of magnitude, just because of the size and the scale and the number of people, and the eyeballs all on, all on a singular match.
Gonzalo Bravo: Let's now shift to another key logistical challenge, playing surfaces, okay? While most soccer leagues around the world prefer to play on natural grass, you already mentioned that, okay? Many venues in the United States that will be used this summer during the World Cup are NFL stadiums, right, that have synthetic turf. Since FIFA mandates natural grass, this venue has been temporarily converted from synthetics
Gonzalo Bravo: to natural dress.
Gonzalo Bravo: Can you walk us through that process? How long does it typically take, and what are the main challenges involved?
John Terry: Yeah, and this has been a process that has been going on for quite some time, I mean, years, 3 or 4 years at minimum. You know, the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University have done some really good research around grass and how to get grass to grow in different environments.
John Terry: Typically, FIFA likes to have… the grass is the same at every World Cup venue, right? So, if the World Cup is in England, for example, every venue in England that is hosting the World Cup will have the same type of grass.
John Terry: What's unique about the World Cup in 2026 is that we have venues as far north as Vancouver and Toronto. One is inside, one is outside, and as far south as Mexico. And so, that means that there are a bunch of different climates
John Terry: That have to be taken into consideration. The climate in Seattle, Washington, is going to be different than the climate in Guadalajara.
John Terry: And the climate in Miami is going to be different than the climate in New England. And so, the type of grass, obviously, it needs to be native and grow, because it's going to be down for so long. So that's, for starters, one of the challenges.
John Terry: The second challenge is, as you mentioned, synthetic turf. And so, there are going to be, I think it's more than half a dozen instances of, transitioning synthetic turf surfaces into natural grass surfaces.
John Terry: And that is a multi-year process, and a lot of things have gone into it, and it looks a little bit different in every venue, in every venue that's taken place. So, some venues, multiple years ago, started installing the infrastructure to do that. So, what I mean by that is you can't just come through.
John Terry: throw down some sod on top of the turf and call it good, right? There's no irrigation, there's no drainage, the grass can't breathe, it can't grow.
John Terry: And so, a lot of these venues, what they have had to do is they have had to come in and add in irrigation systems beneath their artificial turf.
John Terry: They've had to add in sub-air systems, and so what a sub-air system is, is, you know, obviously grass needs oxygen, to survive, and, and it helps, basically pump air beneath the grass to, make sure it drains okay, and make sure it encourages growth.
John Terry: And so, that's a lot of work that has had to happen previously, and drainage systems, by the way, too, because a lot, you know, artificial turf, you're not having to water it every day, so you water an artificial turf surface, there's really no place for that water to go.
John Terry: So a lot of these venues have had to do some pretty major infrastructure projects prior to the World Cup. Some venues have actually built down and dug into the concrete surface beneath their artificial turf and installed stuff below grade.
John Terry: Other venues have actually increased the grade. So, I mentioned we played in Seattle. Their field, is about 18 inches above where the normal Seattle Seahawks football field is, and that's because they put all of the stuff kind of above
John Terry: above grade. Sofi Stadium is the same way. Atlanta dug down. And so…
John Terry: it's all been different, and it's a very large, I imagine a very large undertaking, for FIFA to manage. And then installing it, it's typically about a foot of sand, gravel, a permavoid plastic surface underneath.
John Terry: And then the grass comes in, and you lay the grass on top.
John Terry: And, one thing that a bunch of these venues have had to do is actually purchase grow lights.
John Terry: So grow lights are those big white lights that sit on the top of soccer fields that emit UV light to help grow. And because several of these venues are indoor buildings and they're not getting a ton of light, they had to bring in grow lights to actually encourage
John Terry: encourage growth. And then the maintenance, like, I mean, it's watering, rolling, aerating, I mean, they have to keep these pitches alive for sometimes half a year.
John Terry: And they need to be in tip-top surface, and these games, you know, you have games not every other day, but close to it. And so, you know, it's been a process, I think.
John Terry: Some FIFA fields have already been installed, some have not even been installed yet, as we're talking in April. So, it's going to be an interesting process, the first time it has ever happened, where they've had to install this many temporary pitches, and we'll kind of see how it goes. But the infrastructure that goes into it in the research, I mean, FIFA's really done an incredible job of the research, and hopefully.
John Terry: It will make, you know, temporary grass installations easier, cheaper, and better, as we move forward.
Gonzalo Bravo: Right.
Gonzalo Bravo: The transformations of plate surfaces is a fascinating logistical process in itself. Staying with stadium's operations, let's turn now to how crowds are managed inside these venues.
Gonzalo Bravo: Do stadiums develop their own protocols based on their unique characteristics, or is there a standardized approach across venues?
John Terry: I would say it's a little bit of both, right? I mean, I think a lot of these venues that are hosting World Cup games hosted the Club World Cup games last year, and so every venue has their own staff, and then FIFA has brought in local staff for each market, and those two groups have been working together now for almost a year. Club World Cup, and now the World Cup.
John Terry: And so the Club World Cup was kind of a test, and they figured out what worked, what didn't work. But I'll go back to what I said at the beginning, and that is that
John Terry: all of these venues in the United States are used to hosting the biggest events that the world has seen, whether it's NFL football games, Taylor Swift concerts, international soccer friendlies.
John Terry: all of these buildings have hosted events that have had their own host of challenges, whether it's, you know, a group of fans in the stadium that doesn't speak English as their first language, you know, or whether it's everyone showing up late to the game, or thunderstorms, or whatever it might be. And so, I think the one thing that
John Terry: the U.S.
John Terry: specifically, not Canada or Mexico, but the United States venues have going for them is that they're just used to doing this. Like, they're used to doing this with the spotlight, the spotlight on them pretty significantly. I mean, AT&T Stadium has hosted a Super Bowl, MetLife has hosted a Super Bowl,
John Terry: Mercedes-Benz has hosted college football national championships, NRG has hosted college football national championships and Super Bowls. All of these stadiums have hosted… SoFi Stadium has hosted Super Bowls, Levi's Stadium just hosted a Super Bowl.
John Terry: all of these stadiums have hosted the… Hard Rock Stadium has hosted a Super Bowl. All of these stadiums have hosted the biggest events. And so, I think it's… it's not going to be super difficult. I do think, though, to your point and your question, is that
John Terry: you know, FIFA will help manage, certainly. The stadiums will help manage, and they will need to figure out how to work together, to ensure that it's a good experience. The one thing
John Terry: That I think will be unique to this versus other sporting events.
John Terry: And this isn't just for the stadium. This is for the… the city.
John Terry: is the number of people who will come to the United States
John Terry: and not… and English will not be their first language, is probably going to be very unique. Now, a lot of the cities are already super diverse and culturally diverse, and there are, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people in these cities who don't… who… English is not their first language.
John Terry: But, for example, in Atlanta, when Haiti plays Morocco, there's not a ton of French.
John Terry: around the stadium. And so…
John Terry: how FIFA handles that with volunteers or temporary signage is going to be super important. But other than that, the guest experience, I think, is going to look
John Terry: really similar. I think the fan experience and the operations of the stadium are going to look very similar. The only things that might change will be some VIP entrances and some hospitality stuff, but…
John Terry: At the end of the day, you know, I think you have really smart people in these venues, you have really smart people at FIFA, and they'll figure out a way to make it a great experience for fans.
Gonzalo Bravo: Great.
Gonzalo Bravo: As we wrap up, I'd like to shift gears and hear your thoughts on the potential impact of this World Cup in the United States. What do you see as the most visible and tangible legacies this tournament could leave for soccer in the United States.
Gonzalo Bravo: And how might it further contribute to the continued growth and development of sport across the country?
John Terry: Yeah, look, I think, obviously, this will be the biggest sporting event that the U.S. has ever hosted. I mean, you could make an argument that this is going to be the biggest sporting event ever hosted in the world, in world history. And there are going to be a lot of challenges with this one.
John Terry: I think it's really cool, it gives each city, the ability to work together to pull off something amazing for their own city, so…
John Terry: In a city like Atlanta, where you have a very supportive stadium with a chamber of commerce, with a sports commission.
John Terry: a really strong local organizing committee, it can be a really great thing for the city of Atlanta, which is where I live and why I keep using it as examples.
John Terry: It could be a catalyst for change when it comes to transit around the city. The World Cup has helped develop this thing called the Beltline, which is a walking trail all around the city, and if it weren't for the World Cup, it would not be finished by June, but it's going to be finished by June, because the World Cup is coming.
John Terry: And so, I think in many cities, it allows…
John Terry: There is going to be good change for the city because of the World Cup.
John Terry: I think the other thing it does, and we've seen this with the 94 World Cup, the 94 Men's World Cup, which obviously took place in the United States, and we certainly saw it with the 1999 Women's World Cup.
John Terry: Which took place in the United States. But the popularity of this sport is going to grow like no one even knows. The number of…
John Terry: little girls back in 1999 who saw Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain and the 99ers win the World Cup and inspired them to go play soccer.
John Terry: Hopefully that's the same.
John Terry: And the cool part about
John Terry: the United States is we have so many people in our country from all over the world. And so someone doesn't just need to be inspired by the U.S. men's national team. Someone could be inspired by the Moroccan national team, right? Someone could be inspired by the Colombian national team, or the national team of Mexico.
John Terry: And so, hopefully, It…
John Terry: Creates a level of visibility that is an inspiration for more people to want to play soccer.
John Terry: I think soccer can be a force for good in this country, in the world, and it's obviously the global sport, and it's getting there in the United States, but I really think this can be a catalyst for change, and can get, more soccer balls at the feet of young kids,
John Terry: all over the country. So between that piece, and then the, obviously, the economic… the economic impact piece of…
John Terry: people come into the United States. There's certainly a lot to… a lot to be excited about.
Gonzalo Bravo: Well, we have reached the end of this interview with our guest, John Turrey, Vice President of Events at the U.S. Soccer Federation. Thank you very much, John, for chairing your expertise in venue operation with us. We wish you all the best going forward, and let's cheer for the USA team this summer.
Gonzalo Bravo: In our final episode, we will be joined by Andres Martinez, author, journalist, and scholar.
Gonzalo Bravo: Andres is the co-director of the Great Game Lab at Arizona State University, where he explores the global convergence of sport media in geopolitics.
Gonzalo Bravo: He also teaches at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, and serves as a special advisor to university president at Arizona State University.
Gonzalo Bravo: Although his academic training is primarily in global affairs and law, Andres has developed a strong interdisciplinary focus that connects politics, sport, and international relations.
Gonzalo Bravo: He also has deep and long-standing interest in soccer, which informs much of his scholarly and public-facing work on the role of sport within global cultural dynamics.
Gonzalo Bravo: We're looking forward to exploring the intersection of sport, culture, and current affairs, and how these intersection becomes visible during global sport events like the 2026 World Cup. Thank you for listening, we hope you'll join us for our next conversation.
John Terry: Right.