Miami-Dade County Vice Chairman Kionne McGhee Demands Immediate Halt to World Cup Funding
Miami-Dade County Vice Chairman Kionne L. McGhee today announced an urgent call to halt all funding for FIFA World Cup 2026 activities and ancillary groups in Miami-Dade County. This demand includes the immediate return of $46 million in proposed and allocated funds to support critical community programs devastated by recent budget cuts.
“I was proud to support bringing the World Cup to Miami-Dade, believing it would showcase our world-class community and drive economic growth,” said Vice Chairman McGhee. “But the Mayor’s proposed budget, which guts critical nonprofits and our county’s Community Action Agency, changes everything. When our residents are facing the loss of programs that keep communities alive, safe, and dignified, spending millions on FIFA stadiums and events becomes indefensible. I can no longer support it.”
The Vice Chairman cited severe recent cuts to:
– Senior support services (meals, transportation, healthcare)
– Summer lunch programs for food-insecure children
– Trauma counseling and mental health resources
– Testing of backlogged rape kits for survivors
– Cultural arts grants sustaining local artists and educators
– Non-profits providing direct aid to vulnerable families
“$46 million sits earmarked for FIFA while seniors lose meal deliveries, children go hungry without summer lunches, rape kits gather dust untested, and trauma survivors are turned away from counseling,” Vice Chairman McGhee emphasized. “This is not fiscal responsibility—it is moral failure. Entertainment cannot come before humanity.”
The Vice Chairman’s Demands:
1. Immediate Suspension: All funding for World Cup-related projects, services, or affiliated groups is halted effective immediately.
2. Full $46 Million Repatriation: Unspent/uncommitted funds redirected to restore grants for non-profits and agencies providing direct community services.
3. Transparent Accounting: Public audit of World Cup expenditures to ensure swift return of taxpayer funds.
“Until the Mayor’s proposed budget fully restore the $46 million to the organizations saving lives in our neighborhoods— not stadiums—I will oppose every dime spent on FIFA. Miami-Dade’s soul is not for sale. We choose communities over stadiums, people over spectacle, and compassion over glamour.”
