Miami Host Committee assembled leading lights to pave way for World Cup

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Miami Host Committee assembled leaders from South Florida’s sports, business, government and tourism sectors to oversee key aspects of the tournament, including funding, regional promotion, fan experience and community engagement ahead of the seven matches at Hard Rock Stadium.

Under an agreement between FIFA, which is the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and Miami-Dade County, the Miami Host Committee is responsible for preparing the region to host the tournament, from developing transportation and security plans to organizing the Fan Festival Miami, which runs daily at Bayfront Park through July 5.

“We were executing the agreement between Miami-Dade County and FIFA, and that agreement calls for us to do a whole bunch of different things, and that’s what we’re doing,” said Rodney Barreto, co-chair of the Host Committee as well as president, CEO and chief visionary officer of the Barreto Group and Barreto Hospitality.

“One is to have a security plan,” he said, “one is to put together a fan fest, one is to do a transportation plan, obviously one is what they call city dressing – what we’re doing is you’ll see billboards and different things wrapped and welcoming the visitors to our community.

“We have a huge contingent of volunteers that help us at the stadium, at the Fan Fest and everything we activate, so I’m sure I’m leaving out a few, but those are the highlights,” he said.

The committee’s leadership includes President and CEO Alina Hudak, Chief Operating Officer Raymond Martinez, Chief Marketing and Community Officer Janelle Prieto, Chief of Staff Lindsey Johnson, Chief Commercial Officer Michelle LaChapelle, Senior Executive Producer of Fan Fest and Events Randi Freedman, General Counsel Bruce Jay Colan, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Kathie Brooks and Vice President of Government Affairs Karla Fortuny.

While the committee has a board of directors, Mr. Barreto said much of the day-to-day planning has been carried out by a paid professional staff.

“We have a board of directors and we have a professional staff that is paid,” he said, “and so the board meets whenever we call a board meeting, but a lot of the work has been done by a professional staff who does this every day.”