More than 300 drones have been confiscated at FIFA World Cup games across the United States since the tournament started on June 11, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported Tuesday.
“Flying a drone in a restricted zone is a federal crime and can result in fines up to $100,000, prison time, and drone confiscation,” TSA posted on X.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and law enforcement officially designated all World Cup stadiums and surrounding event spaces as “No Drone Zones” during the tournament.
The designation means people attending the events aren’t allowed to fly a drone within the restricted areas, defined as a one-nautical-mile radius around the stadiums and 1,000 feet above ground level of the soccer fields. Violations could result in confiscation of the equipment and civil fines of $75,000 per offense. Criminal fines could reach $100,000, according to the FAA.
Violators can also face immediate arrest.
The FBI is authorized to use specialized mitigation tools to intercept and seize the drones, the FAA said.
The FAA recently launched the Drone Expedited and Targeted Enforcement Response (DETER) initiative to accelerate drone identification and enforcement. The program is being used at the World Cup games, the FAA said.
On June 17, the FBI arrested two drone operators and seized eight drones and controllers in an operation during a World Cup game in Kansas City, Mo., according to the local U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of a woman wanted on six outstanding warrants, prosecutors said.
Since June 11, federal authorities detected 19 drones operating in restricted zones around Kansas City stadium, Fan Festival, and other FIFA World Cup event locations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release. “These detections have resulted in 18 contacts by law enforcement with drone operators, 14 drone seizures, and five federal criminal citations,” the statement said.
“Not only is flying drones in [restricted] zones illegal, it’s dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price in the statement.
Nearly 50 nations have competed in more than 20 games so far during the tournament at stadiums in Atlanta, Kansas City, Miam, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, and the New York-New Jersey area.
The United States is hosting 78 games in those 11 cities in the 2026 tournament, which is also being played in Canada and Mexico.
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