'Very little of it is the actual kicking of the ball' - Alexi Lalas says White House's 2026 World Cup task force focused on security, visas, infrastructure and perception issues

Former U.S. men's national team star Alexi Lalas said he's consulted for the White House 2026 World Cup task force, offering advice to executive director Andrew Giuliani ahead of next summer's tournament.

He said its important for the task force to counter any "perception out there that people have that it’s not going to be a welcoming environment."

"You have to, to the extent that you can, nip that in the bud and you have to make sure that you do it in an open, clear, and efficient way," Lalas told POLITICO.

The former defender, who has 96 caps with the U.S., said the task force is focused on matters off the pitch.

"Very little of it is the actual kicking of the ball," Lalas said. "We’re talking about security. We’re talking about visas. We’re talking about those traveling in from outside. We’re talking about even infrastructure relative to the cities, the FanFests, all of these different things."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has stressed that travelers around the world will be able to attend the World Cup, to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the U.S., without issues. A human rights group has been critical of the tournament being held in the United States due to its current policies. 

Giuliani recently said that the White House has improved the visa process since creating the task force. 

"First and foremost, some of the results that we can point to already are the wait times in four soccer-enthusiastic countries," he said. "Mexico’s wait time was over 800 days a year ago. That number is less than 275 days. We’ve got some work to do to get that number even lower, but that’s why the State Department is telling people to apply early. We put it back within the timeline of the World Cup, and we want to keep it within that timeline of the World Cup." 

He also said there has been $625 million earmarked for security as a recent of recent legislation. Giuliani said the task force will work closely with the 11 host committees in the U.S. to ensure cities have the right security resources.

Given recent geopolitical tensions, Lalas said the tournament could help rebuild relationships among the host nations.

"It’s interesting when you think back as to why we are even having this World Cup," he said. "The United States could host the entire World Cup - not a problem when it comes to our infrastructure. But in order to be palatable to enough people to assure the win - it goes back to that baggage that America often brings - it was prudent for us to have Mexico and Canada.

"The current situation between the teams is, let’s say, difficult right now - by our own making admittedly. But hopefully this brings people together."

There are still several teams fighting for qualification this year, all aiming to be part of next year's tournament, which kicks off in June.