America's Sports Decade Needs a Permanent Playbook
The World Cup Task Force Worked. Four reforms would turn this summer's success into a permanent American advantage.
By Travis Murphy, CEO, Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment
The final whistle has blown on the largest World Cup in history. On the field, the tournament delivered everything fans could have hoped for: forty-eight nations, 104 matches, and stars born overnight. If there is any question about the power of sports, look no further than Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper from Cabo Verde who began the tournament with 50,000 Instagram followers and ended it a global celebrity with more than 28 million. That is what the world’s biggest stage can do, and this summer that stage was ours.
Off the field, the United States successfully hosted one of the largest and most complex international events ever staged. That success deserves recognition, but so does a broader reality: as America moves through this unprecedented decade of global sporting events, we still lack a permanent federal strategy for managing them.
The 2027 Military World Games come to the Carolinas next summer. The Olympic and Paralympic Games follow in Los Angeles in 2028. Anyone who doubts what these events mean for American cities should ask Boston, where Scotland’s Tartan Army marched behind bagpipes and crowned the city’s statues with traffic cones. Ask Kansas City and Houston, where Dutch fan walks turned whole districts into a bouncing sea of orange. Ask Philadelphia, where Brazilian supporters dressed the Rocky statue in an Argentina jersey to jinx their rivals. Over the next eight years, competitions across nearly every major sport will bring tens of thousands of athletes and millions of fans, media, and tourists to our shores. Taken together, they represent one of the greatest opportunities for economic growth, diplomacy, tourism, and global engagement our country has seen in generations.
To its credit, the White House established an interagency task force, led by Andrew Giuliani, to coordinate federal preparations for the World Cup. Aligning agencies responsible for immigration, security, transportation, and commerce was no small undertaking, and much of what worked this summer can be attributed to that team’s efforts. But temporary task forces solve temporary problems, and this one is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2026.
The challenge was visible throughout the tournament. Some international supporters encountered visa hurdles, and thousands were denied the opportunity to attend matches. Security funding and operational coordination required constant interagency engagement, often in real time under compressed timelines. None of this suggests the system failed. It suggests the system was never designed for the era we have entered.
To remain the world’s premier stage for sport and maximize the opportunity ahead, the United States must think differently about federal coordination. That shift begins with four reforms.
First, establish a Special Presidential Envoy for Sports Diplomacy, housed at the White House with convening authority across the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Commerce, Transportation, and other relevant agencies.
Most Americans would be surprised to learn that the United States is one of the only G-20 nations without a centralized federal office responsible for sports. Elsewhere, ministries or national agencies own the planning and long-term strategy surrounding major sporting events. Here, responsibility is fragmented: immigration in one department, security in another, transportation in a third, while Commerce promotes tourism and cities compete against one another for events. Every entity performs its mission, but no one owns the intersections between them. A Special Envoy would not replace any agency. It would ensure they operate from a shared strategy and coordinate early enough to solve issues before they become problems, while strengthening cooperation with partner governments and elevating sport as a tool of American influence around the world.
Second, develop a National Commercial Sports Diplomacy Strategy.
America has national strategies for artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, and countless other priorities. It should have one for sports diplomacy. Our allies already do. France, Ireland, and Japan have written sport into their national strategies, and Australia has spent more than a decade integrating sport into its foreign policy and economic development agenda, with measurable returns in trade, investment, education, and tourism.
Congress has taken the first step. The bipartisan American Decade of Sports Act, which would require the State Department to develop a comprehensive sports diplomacy strategy and elevate its sports diplomacy office to carry it out, has advanced out of committee in both chambers. Congress should pass it now and treat it as a floor rather than a ceiling.
Third, modernize how athletes, teams, and fans move across borders.
Global sport depends on mobility. Elite athletes and essential personnel deserve streamlined, predictable processing. Credentialed fans and event personnel from trusted partner countries deserve modern, technology-driven travel pathways. Youth exchanges, federation partnerships, and academic athletic collaborations deserve immigration tools built for international sport.
The proof of concept exists. The prioritized visa appointment system created for World Cup ticket holders (FIFA PASS) showed what purpose-built infrastructure can do. Like Global Entry and Mobile Passport Control at Customs and Border Protection, smart design makes legitimate travel more efficient while keeping government resources focused where risk is greatest. It should become permanent architecture for accredited international events, not a one-time innovation.
Finally, better align commercial diplomacy with sports diplomacy.
American sports leagues are among our country’s most effective global ambassadors. When the NFL plays in Rio de Janeiro, American trade officials should be part of the conversation. As the NBA expands its presence in Europe, our commercial and diplomatic efforts should complement that work. When Major League Baseball plays in Tokyo, our embassies should leverage the moment to deepen commercial relationships and strengthen bilateral ties. These opportunities already exist. We simply have not organized ourselves to capitalize on them.
This summer, a goalkeeper few outside Cabo Verde had ever heard of walked onto an American pitch as an unknown and walked off it a global icon. That is the power of this stage, and we hold the spotlight for eight more years.
The United States does not need to become the world’s premier sporting nation. It already is. We stage the biggest events, fill the biggest stadiums, and command global attention like no other country on earth. What we have not built is the federal architecture to fully capitalize on that position. The Military World Games are less than a year away. LA28 will be here in a blink. The stage is ours through 2034 and hopefully beyond. Let’s build like we intend to keep it.
Travis Murphy is the founder of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment, a Washington, D.C.-based sports and entertainment advisory firm specializing in immigration, government affairs, and global growth strategy.