World Cup Regional Impact

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in 16 different cities across North America from 11 June until 19 July. The Ivory Coast national team will be based in Delaware.
Six games will be played at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, including five group matches (Sun. 14 June, Fri. 19 June, Mon. 22 June, Thurs. 25 June, Sat. 27 June) and one Round of 16 knockout match (Sat. 04 July). 500,000 fans are expected to visit the Philadelphia region during the World Cup.
Delaware is also hosting four official World Cup watch parties across the state for group matches: 12 June (Newark), 20 June (Milton), 26 June (Harrington), and a watch party for the World Cup Final on 19 July at the UD stadium (Newark).
Additionally, the World Cup Final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Our hosting of a national team, and proximity to Philadelphia, means that it is likely fans will spend time between their team’s matches shopping, traveling, and vacationing across the state (including the beaches).
There is a potential for increased overdoses during this time as foreign visitors/fans may be unfamiliar with local drug markets and compounds. Fans not familiar with a fentanyl-heavy or fentanyl-saturated market are particularly at risk in our region.
Foreign visitors/fans may also be unaware of the adulterants within local street drugs, like medetomidine, potentially increasing adverse responses.
The ORC is encouraging observation and reporting of relevant street or field intelligence to the ORC Duty Officer (302-657-9073) or ORC@delaware.gov.

Contact: ORC@delaware.gov

Approved: 08 June 2026

Brent Waninger, ORC Director