Washington, June 3 : Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday that U.S. authorities are preparing for an unprecedented security operation ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing the tournament as "78 Super Bowls in 38 days" as millions of fans are expected to travel across North America for the event.

During Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's fiscal year 2027 budget request, lawmakers questioned the department's readiness to secure one of the largest sporting events in history.

Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee noted that the tournament would bring millions of visitors to the United States beginning later this month and asked what steps DHS was taking to ensure public safety amid growing global security concerns.

"How are we going to protect our homeland, given the fact?" Hagerty asked.

Mullin said extensive planning was already underway involving federal, state and local authorities.

"I've learned more about it than I ever have in my life when it comes to football or soccer, what we call it here in the US," Mullin told lawmakers.

The Secretary said the World Cup presented a unique security challenge because of the number of matches, venues and visitors involved.

"The fact that I got to inherit this is pretty neat," he said before describing the scale of preparations.

According to Mullin, DHS is working closely with local governments and law enforcement agencies across host cities to secure venues and manage crowds.

"We are going to be prepared and we're working every single day on it and we're locking down stadiums with sweeps, we're pushing out perimeters, we're killing choke points, creating traffic control," he said.

He added that authorities were coordinating extensively with state and local partners.

"We're working with the states. And every city we're working in, they have cooperated with us, even in sanctuary cities, because I think all of us want to highlight the greatness of the United States during this World Cup," Mullin said.

Summing up the scale of the task, the Secretary remarked: "We have 78 Super Bowls in 38 days, and hopefully we'll pull it off with complete safety."

Mullin acknowledged that previous government shutdowns had complicated some planning efforts but insisted DHS remained fully focused on ensuring the tournament proceeds without major security incidents.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and is expected to be the largest edition of the tournament ever staged. The expanded competition will feature 48 teams and a record number of matches spread across multiple cities in North America.

The tournament is expected to attract millions of international visitors and generate billions of dollars in economic activity. US federal agencies, including DHS, the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, the Secret Service and local law enforcement departments, have been developing security plans for years to address potential threats ranging from terrorism and cyberattacks to crowd management and transportation disruptions.

/IANS