Police officers and firefighters helping secure the 2026 FIFA World Cup are wearing special commemorative badges on their uniforms, embracing the tournament while taking pride in their role in protecting one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
The limited-edition badges, most finished in gold and featuring FIFA World Cup 26-themed designs, have appeared on the uniforms of public safety personnel from agencies including the Inglewood Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
For many officers, the badges symbolize more than a temporary assignment.
“I want to bring it back! Let’s go! Goal! Of course, the fever is here,” Inglewood police officer Javier Mosley said outside SoFi Stadium, where World Cup matches are being played.
Mosley said the tournament has transformed him into a passionate soccer supporter after witnessing the enthusiasm of visiting fans. For colleagues who had followed the sport long before the World Cup arrived, he said, working the event has fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
The badge Mosley wears was designed to represent the playing field surrounded by thousands of supporters inside the stadium. Public safety agencies have been able to choose from several commemorative designs created specifically for personnel assigned to tournament security.
“It catches the feeling of the SoFi Stadium,” Mosley said.
Badge manufacturer Smith & Warren, licensed by FIFA to produce the collection, said the commemorative badges are available only to authorized law enforcement agencies participating in World Cup security operations across the United States and Canada.
“In soccer, there is nothing more iconic than the World Cup. In public safety, there is nothing more iconic than the badge,” the company said. “We want this collection to be unique and stand apart and embrace the FIFA World Cup 26 rallying cry.”
Security at World Cup venues has involved multiple layers of law enforcement. Local police officers work alongside county deputies, federal agencies including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as private security personnel. Bomb-detection dogs are also deployed at stadium entrances as part of the extensive screening process.
Inside the stadium during Sunday’s Canada-South Africa match, one officer said he felt proud to welcome visitors from around the world to a community that had undergone dramatic changes over the past three decades.
The officer, who grew up in the area, recalled the economic hardship and violence that affected the city during the 1990s and said hosting the World Cup demonstrated how much the community had evolved.
Before the tournament began, some advocacy groups had expressed concern that officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be deployed around stadiums, while protests calling to “Kick ICE Out” highlighted broader political tensions surrounding the event.
Nearly three weeks into the competition, however, there has been little visible presence of ICE around match venues, and interactions between fans and local police have generally remained calm.
Mosley said working at the World Cup had become one of the highlights of his law enforcement career.
“It’s one of those bucket list things that, you know, I never thought that in my life as an early police officer that I would be able to host and be on the field,” he said.
As the tournament continues, the commemorative badges have become a visible reminder that security personnel are not only protecting the event but also sharing in the experience of hosting a global celebration of soccer.
