Fort Lauderdale is moving funds previously considered for the FIFA World Cup to its homelessness budget instead.
The city formally torpedoed a $350,000 proposal to fund events in the county around the soccer tournament, which is being held in Miami and 15 other cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada next summer.
It comes just weeks after a Miami-Dade commissioner asked for a halt to $46 million in county funds for the World Cup, on the back of major cuts to county services and staffing in the proposed budget for next year.
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The shift in priorities in Broward, disclosed in an Aug. 13 memorandum from the city manager, came after Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and other officials raised financial concerns last month.
“Personally, I don’t see any gain from it when nothing’s happening in Fort Lauderdale. Nothing’s happening in Chase Stadium of consequence,” Trantalis said at a June 17 workshop meeting.
The only time teams will be playing in Broward County during the tournament, Trantalis said, will be for practice at Chase Stadium. The stadium, which hosts Inter Miami's games, is not large enough to accommodate World Cup matches and fans.
Alina Hudak, the CEO of the Miami-area host committee, did not respond to a request for comment.
Instead of World Cup events, the funding will be spent on one-time purchases, “including vehicles and equipment that will support City personnel in engaging directly with homeless individuals,” said Ashley Doussard, a spokesperson for Fort Lauderdale.
Funding outside of Miami-Dade
The FIFA host committee has struggled to solicit public funds for World Cup programs in Broward County.
At a Tourism Development Council (TDC) meeting in May, the committee requested $2.5 million from Broward County for “fan festival” watch events, advertising inclusion and exclusive events, according to its request.
Visit Lauderdale, the marketing arm for the county, recommended providing $250,000. The rest of the funding would have to be approved by county commissioners for a vote. However, the committee never followed up with the county to formally request the funds, according to Stacey Ritter, president of Visit Lauderdale.
Currently, no money has been allocated from Broward County for the FIFA World Cup, she said — not even the quarter of a million dollars from Visit Lauderdale. “They didn’t want it,” Ritter said. “They want more.”
