The FIFA World Cup 2026 represents a concentrated convergence of people-related exposures for risk professionals, says Mr Marc Hewitt, Head of Special Risks and Senior Vice President at Marsh.
In an article titled “FIFA World Cup 2026: Special risks insurance considerations”, Mr Hewitt said, “Beyond the stadium infrastructure and event logistics, it is the human element — players, coaches, officials, fans — that is often the most nuanced and underappreciated risk consideration. Special risks insurance, encompassing kidnap and ransom (K&R), crisis management, and personal security, is a key risk management tool across stakeholders.”
He outlines several risks faced by players and teams and by match attendees and fans and explains the insurance lines available to mitigate the risks.
Players and teams
Kidnap, ransom, and express kidnapping
With matches scheduled across Mexico — including in Mexico City and Guadalajara — the K&R exposure for players, coaching staff, and their families warrants serious attention. Mexico has one of the highest rates of express kidnapping globally, a crime in which victims are abducted for short periods and forced to make immediate ATM withdrawals or bank transfers before being released. The targets are not always the most famous faces — support staff, agents, and family members travelling in the tournament’s orbit can also be vulnerable.
Special Risks or K&R policies can provide more than financial indemnity. They can offer access to experienced response professionals who operate discreetly alongside law enforcement to manage negotiations, coordinate safe releases, and support affected families.
Athlete fatality and crisis management
Specialised sports and entertainment insurance products can extend beyond conventional K&R coverage to include athlete fatality and embedded crisis management services so that if the unthinkable occurs, the team, the governing body, and the athlete’s representatives have ready access to coordinated support.
Cyberbullying and stalking
In professional sport, players who miss penalties, underperform, or become the focus of media scrutiny can face coordinated online abuse campaigns of extraordinary intensity. In some cases, this can escalate to physical stalking.
Specialised insurance coverage can provide access to psychological crisis response, digital forensics to identify perpetrators, and security consultants who can assess and manage physical threat escalation.
Attendees and fans
The millions of supporters travelling to the US, Canada and Mexico face a unique set of personal risk exposures that many will not have considered.
Kidnap and personal safety
Fan travel risk varies significantly depending on which host cities are on the itinerary. For supporters attending matches in Mexican host cities in particular, awareness of the local security environment is essential. Express kidnappings and opportunistic crime targeting tourists in unfamiliar urban environments are ongoing concerns. Travel risk briefings and, particularly for corporate or high net worth travellers, personal K&R coverage can be prudent considerations.
Crisis management and emergency response
Large-scale public events carry an inherent risk of crowd incidents, civil unrest, and terrorism. Fans attending multiple events across different cities and potentially different countries will want to have confidence that their insurance provides crisis response capabilities in addition to post-event reimbursement.
Travel and personal risk policies for attendees should ideally include access to 24/7 emergency response lines, medical evacuation, and, where appropriate, security evacuation support. For corporate travel managers responsible for staff attending the tournament, these features may not only be preferred, but essential.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, featuring 48 teams, runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026. The matches are held across 16 venues in the US, Mexico and Canada. The Middle East and North Africa region is represented by 10 teams: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE. M