U.S., Canada & Mexico Political Leaders on Global Sportsmanship
Senator Bill Haggerty led efforts to bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup—the largest ever with 104 games and 48 teams—to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, using Japan’s participation as a diplomatic counter to China. Ambassador Moctezuma-Barragon’s "Social World Cup" teaches children teamwork via school programs, while Hillman highlights soccer’s unifying power in diverse cities like Vancouver. Security challenges, including UAS threats, require trilateral coordination (Mexico’s July 2025 meeting) and federal-state collaboration to prevent incidents like stadium ramming. Success hinges on cross-border sportsmanship, with Giuliani pushing for athlete-led respect and Hillman aiming for joyful fan interactions, setting a precedent for future hosts like Spain-Portugal-Morocco’s 2034 bid. [Automatically generated summary]
And you can't always have a discussion with people.
Some people just aren't ready to hear it.
But there are a lot of minds that you can change one mind at a time.
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Watch America's Book Club with Jody Pico this Sunday at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on C-SPAN.
And now to a conversation on civility and sportsmanship ahead of the 2026 Men's FIFA World Cup, which is being held here in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
This nearly 50-minute portion of this conversation, hosted by the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute, highlights what potential tourism benefits may come from the World Cup.
Well, good afternoon, everyone.
Thank you.
Welcome to the Reagan Institute, the Reagan Foundation's home here in the nation's capital.
We're so happy to have all of you here with us today for this really fun event that we've been looking forward to.
Early in his administration, back in 1983, President Reagan hosted soccer all-stars at the White House.
It was members of Team America.
And to introduce the event, he explained, I quote, soccer, as you know, is a worldwide sport and has been increasing in popularity here in America just by leaps and bounds in the past few years.
Well, that certainly gives you a sense of perspective of how far and how fast popularity of soccer has grown these last few decades, because it's not necessary to explain the popularity of soccer to anybody these days.
But today we're gathered here in advance of the World Cup draw taking place here in Washington, D.C. Where Mexico, the United States, and Canada prepare to host the 2026 World Cup.
The World Cup and soccer itself are important not just because they're popular, they matter because they bring the nations of the world together.
Even in times of conflict, war, political, economic, we find a way to put aside differences for civil competition on the soccer field.
Well, mostly civil, I'll say.
Promoting civility is part of our mission here at the Reagan Institute.
In fact, we launched the Center on Civility and Democracy to highlight how working together strengthens our communities and institutions.
And that's where our Common Ground Forum series comes in.
And we are delighted that the founding underwriter and lead sponsor, Marcia Carlucci, is with us today.
Thank you, Marcia.
The Common Ground Forum series was inspired by President Reagan's willingness to work across the aisle with Democratic speaker Tip O'Neill and others to achieve meaningful and lasting progress for the American people.
The series is about bringing together leading voices with different points of view with a focus on modeling and advancing civil dialogue and solutions.
And as divided and polarized as our society is today, we found sports to be a great unifier, a place where people of completely different political views come together and cheer for the same team.
And on the field, we applaud our athletes for demonstrating good sportsmanship, a respect for their opponents, and a commitment to honor the rules of the game.
Something we hope can be an example for our political leaders and across our society.
And in that spirit, our Better Rivals initiative with the Rose Bowl Institute launching next year will use sports as a means of improving how Americans approach civic life.
So with the entire soccer world focused on Washington, D.C., we want to take this opportunity in today's conversation to remind the world of the enduring connection between sports and democracy, competition and civility, and the opportunity to lead and be respectful on and off the field.
The ambassadors, government officials, and athletes who have joined us today are well equipped to make that case.
And so is our first speaker.
In fact, one of the biggest soccer fans I know and a good friend of the Reagan Institute, Senator Bill Haggerty of Tennessee, as a former businessman and ambassador, understands well that competition and cooperation can and should go hand in hand.
They make better communities and better societies.
And that's the kind of leadership he deployed to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville, Tennessee.
Diplomatic Win for North America00:15:53
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So who better to kick us off?
But please welcome Senator Bill Hagerty.
Thanks, Reggie.
Good afternoon, everybody.
It's a great honor to be here with all of you today.
And, you know, I think about the history of this, what transpired back in 1988 when President Reagan led the vote to bring the World Cup to America for the first time.
In 1994, the World Cup arrived, and we set attendance records that have yet to be beat.
We still maintain the highest attendance record for a World Cup in history with that event.
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I look forward to seeing we can't break that in 2016.
I thought I might share with you why this is so personal to me.
We put together a tremendous organizing committee.
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I think our state showed its very best.
And through a long process, by December of 2017, Nashville leapt over every one of those other 12 competitors and in fact took the 24th spot because Miami had not quite finished their bid.
And we became the 24th member of the Major League Soccer Organization.
We're now at 30 franchises and continuing to grow.
And the enthusiasm is enormous to see that happen in my home city, in my home state.
Wonderful.
And I can tell you we're looking forward to seeing the results of the draw here this week.
Because if things work out, I'm very hopeful that Japan may make Nashville its home as they prepare for and compete.
It depends on where they draw, but we'd love to see them there.
Why Japan?
Well, that's the next part of my personal story.
I was serving as United States ambassador to Japan when the period came to compete for the 2026 World Cup.
And there was a lot of pressure on this, a lot of geopolitical pressure.
What do I mean by that?
China was pushing Morocco very, very hard.
Of course, we wanted to see this take place in North America.
I reached out to our ambassadors from Canada and from Mexico.
They joined me at the U.S. Ambassador's residence, and we invited the head of the J-League, the Japan League, to come and visit.
Earlier, Don Garber, the president of MLS, and Carlos Cordillera, who was president of the U.S. League here, had both come out to see me.
to talk to me about the importance of getting Japan on board because if we could get Japan on board, that would turn the tide throughout Asia.
It would make a difference diplomatically, standing up for America and her allies.
And it would send a strong message to China too, that coercion doesn't work in the sports field just like it shouldn't work in economic and other arenas.
It was a long discussion, a fruitful discussion, and I got a call later that night from the Japanese government saying, you have our vote.
And with that, we knew we were going to win this bid.
So it's wonderful to see it all come together here.
Again, I'm looking forward to a wonderful sporting event, but I'd also like to underscore the diplomatic importance of this.
It was a diplomatic win to bring the event here to North America.
It's a diplomatic opportunity to see three nations cooperate, Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
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We're honored today to have our ambassadors from Canada and Mexico, both good friends of mine here.
And you'll hear from them a little bit later, but to see the three nations working together in such a fruitful endeavor, one that's going to bring economic opportunity, great sporting spirit, and frankly, will lift the spirits of everyone around the world who participates.
So it's been a great honor to help open this today and let you know how thrilled I am to see one of the great events in the world taking place again right here in North America.
Thank you, and may God bless.
Thank you, Senator Haggerty.
It's great to have you here at the Reagan Institute.
We look forward to your next visit.
Thank you, Red.
Well, it's now my pleasure to introduce our first panel.
It features special guests who are integral to the success of World Cup 2026.
The Honorable Andrew Giuliani has served at the senior levels of American government as special assistant to the president, and earlier this year, the president appointed him to the executive director of the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma-Barragon was appointed Ambassador of Mexico to the United States in 2021 by President Oberdor and was ratified by the Mexican Senate with near unanimous consent.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman has been serving as the Ambassador of Canada to the United States since 2020.
The first woman appointed to this position.
Ambassador Hillman has stewarded the bilateral relationship through three administrations.
And our moderator, Travis Parker, is CEO of Center Circle Sport, a DC-based agency that organizes sports diplomacy trainings and programs for teams, governments, and businesses.
Please welcome them.
Thank you, Ambassador.
Thank you.
Thanks, your ambassador.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
All right.
Good evening, everybody.
Thank you.
Thank you, Fred, for introducing us.
Thank you, Mr. Giuliani, Ambassador Moctezuma, Ambassador Hillman, for sharing the stage and talking about the phrase of the year, sports diplomacy.
I think everybody's inboxes have been blowing up this week with invitations to events, various newsletters, things that people want you to know about sports, about sports as a diplomatic tool, about how we as international powerhouses can work together to show off the greater power sports possesses, not just on the field, but off the field as well.
And we've got quite the pipeline of sporting events coming our way, most notably, of course, the 2026 Men's FIFA World Cup.
Now, this is not the first major sporting event that has been co-hosted by different nations.
The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
The 2020 Euros was co-hosted by a plethora of different European nations.
That's just soccer alone.
But I think I speak in obvious terms when I say this is easily the biggest one, the most important one.
Never has there been a large event like this that has been organized by three powerhouse prominent countries as the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
There's a huge spotlight here.
And with a huge spotlight also comes an opportunity to shine, as I said, both on the field and off the field as well.
In international collaboration, in domestic gain, in people-to-people connections.
And that's what we're going to talk about for the next about 30 minutes or so.
So I want to start big picture here, and I'd like to start at the end of the line here with Ambassador Hillman, but then come down and hear from each of you on this question.
Kind of starting broad, international, what are the biggest global opportunities that you see this World Cup presenting Canada and presenting the three of you together?
Is it foreign relationships?
Is it international prominence?
Is it being seen as a great host nation or something different?
Ambassador, if you could start.
Well, thanks.
And also, thank you very much for the invitation.
Thank you to the Reagan Center.
Canada may not be thought of first and foremost as a soccer country.
There may be another sport that people associate with us.
But I would say it is becoming the most popular sport for the broadest range of people.
And so this is going to be really quite remarkable for both of our teams, which we feel are very good and doing very well, but also for our whole country.
So thanks for having me and allowing us to highlight this.
I think to answer your question, you know, I think about the World Cup in particular as a sporting event, which is a sporting event with a sporting event with an incredibly diverse fan base, the whole world essentially, coming together in this particular instance to three different countries, which are also diverse in their cultures and in their expressions of sportsmanship.
And for Canada, the two cities that we have hosting the events, Vancouver and Toronto, are two cities where more than 40% of the people that live in each of those cities were not born in Canada.
So these are extremely diverse cities with all sorts of people coming from all sorts of backgrounds.
So if I was to say there's a macro theme from my perspective of this particular sporting event and as it relates to us, it's we are a very diverse world.
We are a very diverse continent that is in a deep partnership.
And in our two cities that are hosts, they are very diverse cities, but that are also working together to put on the best possible fan experience for everyone who shows up.
And I think that that's an analogy of sport, right?
Sport is about diversity, it's about a bit of tension, but it's also about coming together to celebrate something that everybody loves and enjoys.
Thank you very much.
And while Canada might see another sport as its primary sport, your men's soccer team has been outstanding lately and kicking the butts of America.
Our ladies aren't doing too bad either.
Not too bad either.
Just saying.
Women are women.
Look, look out, hockey, soccer's comedy.
Ambassador Moctezuma, what does Mexico see as global potential from this World Cup?
What are you looking at in the future as, oh man, we really might be able to shine from this.
Well, you know, when you speak about Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, you cannot think about North America.
And I think that North America as a region, it's doing great in commerce.
If you put the three countries together, we produce 30% of the GDP of the world, 500 million people.
And I think that also gathering together to organize this incredible sport, which I think is the most important sport in the world, it's a very important issue for North America.
So the world sees us as a region.
And the other thing is that every time I travel and I speak with locals, everywhere in the world, what they say about Mexico is: I remember in the World Cup of 1986, I remember in the World Cup of 1970 because we have organized three World Cups.
So it's really a reference for most of the people.
And that is also awesome.
Mexico is the authority figure of hosting World Cups up on this stage.
This will be your third.
This is America's second, Canada.
Welcome to the party, Michael.
Absolutely.
Happy to be there.
Mr. Giuliani, from an American perspective, most of the people in the room are probably Americans.
What do you see this World Cup bringing to America from an international macro point of view?
Yeah, well, thank you, Travis.
And Ambassador, it's great to be with you here to really start off what's going to be, I look at, as World Cup year.
Come December 5th, when Canada, the United States, Mexico, we've known for the longest that we'll be in the tournament, but who we're going to play, who's going to come to all these incredible 16 great North American cities, it's going to be very exciting.
And for me, let me just also say it's very exciting to be with the Ronald Reagan Institute.
My father had the opportunity to work eight years under President Reagan and the Justice Department, and I know was on the board of the museum.
Actually, it was the last place where I got to take my great, my grandfather, who was 25 years in the Navy, a lieutenant commander.
So the Reagan Institute, and certainly President Reagan has a great place in my heart.
The way that I look at this is: look, there has never been a World Cup, there's never been a sporting event where the entire continent, an entire continent, has bonded together to be able to host such an incredible event.
I may sound a little bit like my boss, President Trump, when I say this is going to be the largest sporting event in human history, but this is going to be the largest sporting event in human history.
104 games.
First time you've had 48 teams qualify.
I remember was only 32.
The incredible statistic about what Senator Hagerty said last time, setting attendance records.
There were only 24 teams at that point, and the U.S. set the attendance record.
So I look forward to that record being shattered.
One of the things that we were happy to announce in the Oval Office a couple weeks ago was the FIFA prioritized appointment scheduling system to give priority to ticket holders that want to be able to come into the game so that way they can get an appointment to be able to come here to the United States.
And the State Department outside of that has worked to reduce visa wait times in, I think the statistic, as I saw it this morning, was over 80% of the world that is seeking a visa can get a visa appointment in less than 60 days.
Incredible strides just in the last 18 months to two years.
So I think we're prepared.
We're ready.
I think it's a great opportunity to be able to show off kind of how three unique countries can bond together to set up such a great sporting event.
Well also from an American perspective, we get the opportunity to host this over our 250th birthday.
I mean it is a great opportunity at least from the American perspective to show off, I think, American exceptionalism when you think about Ronald Reagan, right?
American exceptionalism over our first 250 years and the greatness and promise and hope of our next 250 years.
A phenomenal segue because literally my next question was going to be, well, all right, instead of just looking broadly macro sharing the stage with three folks, how can you look at this from a domestic game?
Well, it's America's 250th birthday.
That's an easy spot to start.
But also when the World Cup happens in your backyard, you get millions of new people suddenly coming.
You've got people visiting businesses that have never seen such exposure, young kids experiencing and brushing shoulders with different cultures that they've never interacted with before.
World Cup Base Camps00:15:41
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Mr. Giuliani, kind of to continue that, and maybe the answer is America 250.
But what would you see as the best potential for the United States to see as a domestic gain from this World Cup?
Well, no pressure on Coach Ponchatino, but the U.S. has to win, right?
That's it.
Now, I'm a dreamer over here, obviously, as you can tell.
Well, as we took on this role in my initial conversations with President Trump about this, he urged me to look beyond the 16 North American and 11 American host cities that are going to be hosting games.
Obviously, that's where you'll have so many of the great openers, whether it's the opening of the tournament in Mexico City, the great games that will be played in Vancouver, to the final that's going to be played in New Jersey, in the Meadowlands.
Looking at the 49 base camps, yeah, there's one for the referees.
We've got to make sure the referees are taken care of too.
I hope they're actually, the rest are in the U.S. because then we can try to take care of them and make sure they give us some good calls.
And I don't think that's in the sportsmanship function.
We're not going to do that together.
I'll turn that one later.
But you think about the opportunity for some of these cities.
As these teams get drawn to either Boston or Monterey or Toronto being their initial games, they're going to decide that maybe their base camp is going to be based out of Nashville, Tennessee, or maybe it's going to be Providence, Rhode Island, or Boise, Idaho, if it's in the United States of America.
And what kind of an opportunity would that be if, let's say, a Brazil or an Argentina, a real soccer enthusiastic nation, Japan, right?
You can go on and on down the list, potentially ends up basing in this city for 45 days, two months, depending how long they go into the tournament.
So one of the things we're focused on in the task force as we see this draw, as we see over the next six weeks how different countries select their base camp city, is we want to make sure that we're working with the Chamber of Commerce in each of those cities, working with the small business administration in each of those cities so that way they can maximize the economic opportunity of this really once in a lifetime, or maybe a few times in a lifetime.
It was my lifetime in 94.
I'm hoping we could do this again so well that they're like, hey, take one of the next couple of games.
Take once in a generation opportunity.
Maybe something like that.
Ambassador Hillman, same question.
Other than hopefully landing the referee camp so that you can get them on your side or having the Canadian team lift the trophy on American soil at MetLife Stadium.
What do you see as the kind of the best opportunity for Canada, specifically Canada in this?
Is it also the ability to show off, like Mr. Giuliani just said, to other soccer prominent nations that you too are one and expose your businesses to global industry or is it something different?
Well, I think all those things are true, but I'd also like to take it local.
Yeah.
Because these opportunities are happening in specific cities.
Those cities, as we know from hosting Olympics in our cities, those cities end up getting a lot of attention on their infrastructure, their sports infrastructure, which has a long legacy, right, for young people and sports in those cities thereafter.
There's also the whole reality of bringing people from all over the world to your country, to specific cities, generates jobs, generates all sorts of excitement around our country, not just for those folks who come, but I think one of our objectives is going to be to set up events and opportunities in those two cities to showcase other parts of the country.
So people can say, oh, I'm really enjoying Vancouver.
It's fantastic.
Maybe I should try Banff, or maybe I should try Montreal.
So we're going to try and just create a bit of energy around tourism for probably a lot of people who wouldn't otherwise have visited Canada.
You know, there's a lot of people traveling from all over the world.
And so that's a really important feature for us.
And then I would like to say I volunteered when I was younger at the Calgary Winter Olympics.
And it was a terrific experience.
There were groups of young people, not just Canadians, but from all from many participating countries.
And we were like gophers.
We were running around doing whatever had to be done for whatever had to be done.
But it was extraordinary.
Like I just found it to be such an interesting, eye-opening experience of meeting a lot of young people from all over the world in the context of, yes, working really hard, but also having an awful lot of fun and celebrating sport.
So, you know, I look forward to that for our young people from all three nations.
The tourism part is something I think a lot of fans don't think about at first.
They're like, I'm going to go to a soccer game.
What else am I going to do?
Well, it's nice to see that there is some proactivity happening that can channel people to different destinations that might not have originally been on their itinerary.
And I think it's honestly kind of untapped potential across all three countries, the idea of sports as a touristic vehicle.
Ambassador Moctezuma, same question.
Obviously, Mexico has a deep, deep soccer history tradition.
And some of the games between Mexico and the United States have been honestly some of the most fun I've ever watched.
Other than the Mexican men's national team winning the World Cup, what would you see being the best domestic gain that your nation can get out of this World Cup?
Is it also tourism?
Is it also showing off your country to other soccer-ravid countries or something else?
Well, mainly what we have thought about is, you see, the World Cup is like a lightning.
It's very powerful, but it's brief.
And so you have the experience, everybody's excited, and suddenly it's gone.
So what we're thinking about is the day after, precisely what's going to happen after the World Cup.
And we have organized something that is called the Social World Cup, which means that we want in the educational system to teach children values of teamwork and fair play.
So during the World Cup, there is going to be many activities in schools around football in order to point out the importance of fair game and teamwork.
Also, there's going to be a lot of championships all around the nation to promote a healthy life.
A healthy life, which means to have to practice sports, not to use any kind of drugs or something, to eat well, to know what to eat in order to not to have problems with your nutrition.
And that is something that is also going to be enforced in a school level and with the health ministry.
And they will focus also in the importance of muscle mass building, how much muscle you need in order to be healthier, and things like not smoking and so on.
So that's what we call the social World Cup.
The Social World Cup, this idea that this impact of this huge sporting event doesn't just get blown away, as you said, or come hit like lightning, light everything up, and then suddenly everything's dead afterward.
No, you want actual life to blossom from this.
So use the momentum.
Yeah.
All right, that's very cool.
That's more of a social project, even than just industry or tourism and stuff like that.
I like that as well.
Three very different answers, but also coming from kind of a similar standpoint.
I'm now going to turn to a less fun topic, which is the challenges that obviously come when three huge nations organize the largest sporting event in history.
We would be fools to think it's all hunky-dory, that everything's going great, there's nothing but opportunities.
No, there are going to be bumps and hiccups along the way.
You've got security projects to manage.
You've got stadiums to spiff up.
You've got people to schlep between countries.
You've got teams to get from A to B. You've got so many fan zones to build and so many kegs of Molson and Budweiser and Modelo to order.
Soccer fans will drink.
I'm curious, in all honesty, about what the biggest hurdles are that you have encountered thus far.
Mr. Giuliani, perhaps we can start with you.
Your task force obviously works very close with the Department of Homeland Security.
I would assume security is one of the biggest tasks on this task force.
Is that the biggest hurdle that you see the World Cup presenting, or is it something else?
Yeah, I think that really is the key.
You know, when you think about how wouldn't this World Cup be successful, right?
Well, if there's a security incident, right?
You go back and think about maybe an Olympic Games where there's a security incident has happened, and then you think about where that had happened in the past.
They weren't necessarily at the stadiums, maybe at what would be considered the fan fest or the hotels.
And that gives you an idea of actually the scope of this when you're talking about protecting the entire country, the entire continent from this perspective.
So as we were sworn in, and depending on how you look at it in it, late April or early May, what we decided to utilize was the two tournaments that were coming up this last summer, that were this last summer in 2025, the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup, to be able to go and look at how each of the state and locals are operating in running their stadium.
Understanding that the Club World Cup, much different than the World Cup.
The World Cup is truly a unique event.
It really is like a Super Bowl when you actually look at the security protocols.
Looking at everything from vehicle ramming, as we've seen, that's been a copycat issue, whether it be in New Orleans, what we saw in New Year's last year, going back to, we saw that in London happen at one of the outside of one of the Premier League stadiums.
I know recently as well, to what happened in Copa America back in 2024 when you had spectators that did not have seats actually try to rush the gates.
So in working with our state and local partners, we've created federal coordination teams so that way they have a direct umbilical cord to the federal government, to the White House task force.
So then that way we're working directly with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, FBI, Department of State.
So then that way we're able to actually look and say, okay, well, what holes need to be plugged in Boston, in Seattle, in New Jersey, New York, because it's a McGill.
And that's going to continue on once we have these base camps.
We actually have a federal liaison officer going out to each of these base camp cities so we can work to prevent what we talked about before, which is potentially an incident happening at one of the team hotels or something like that.
So it is a lot.
We need to really rely on the expertise of our state and local partners in law enforcement, but it's also on us to make sure that we are communicating to our state and local partners and with our state and local partners.
That way, if they're seeing something in Boston that can help a team base camp in Providence, Rhode Island, let's say as they go to Providence, Rhode Island, or as they go to their next game in Toronto, we can have the communication necessary with our neighbors to the north.
So then that way we can actually see, okay, from a full perspective, from a country, from a continent-wide perspective, where are we vulnerable?
What are we seeing that could ultimately affect games here, there, base camps here, there.
So I would say more than anything, it's trying to make sure that the 11 host cities in the United States, that they are prepared for the games, for the hotels, for the fan fest from a security perspective,
but also the 49 base camps and their lead law enforcement is prepared for the rush of, you know, like I said, a Brazil or an Argentina where you'll have hundreds of thousands of Brazilians or Argentinians or maybe French that come into the area when they might not normally be used to that.
Well, and I think you just touched on something that I'm sure a lot of folks are interested in, which is kind of the cross-border communication about these security concerns.
Ambassador Hillman or Mr. Giuliani, feel free to hop in, but I am kind of curious, speaking a bit more about that.
Obviously, you're focused on your domestic cities down to state and local level.
But also, as you just mentioned, well, you're also looking out for the World Cup at large.
There's a lot of information sharing that's probably happening here.
Is this one of the biggest obstacles, or actually is it something that you've kind of seen as being a great almost exercise in cross-country collaboration?
Or are there other obstacles that we haven't yet experienced?
Well, actually, you were talking a minute ago about, Edward was talking about visas and processing visas in a timely way.
And each of our countries has our own procedures.
We also have our own standards.
We process visas based on our own domestic law.
But we also want a fan experience where fans can move between the three countries to go to different games.
We want it to feel like a community of countries that they're visiting.
And that is going to require a fair bit of coordination.
So for sure, there's federal, municipal, local, you know, we all have that.
And that's never a lot of fun, quite honestly, trying to manage all of that.
We all have that within our own countries.
But as between the three of us, we also want a smooth experience between the three countries while respecting each other's sovereign decisions about visa policy, which we have to and will, of course.
So that's been something we've been talking about.
And I think the good thing about North America is that there is already a lot of travel between our three countries.
And so our officials who are responsible for these things, they know each other.
These people responsible for these policies have connections with each other.
But that's an obstacle.
And it's going to take a lot of work to make sure that from the fan side, it's seamless and pleasant and enjoyable and doesn't get in the way of enjoyment, just as obviously security is job one for all of us.
I'm sure.
No, I 100% agree with the ambassador said.
One thing just kind of taking a little bit of different direction, but talking about kind of how we've worked together from a security standpoint.
Mexico hosted the first counter-UAS trilateral meeting between the United States, Mexico, and Canada back in July.
I was honored to go down there.
I know there's been major progress from a counter-UAS perspective, working amongst the three countries.
And also, we're working on some issues here as well.
I actually will see Senator Hagerty tomorrow up on the Hill to try to work out some of the legislation piece of this.
I know the FBI has created a schoolhouse where the state and locals can actually get trained on this.
Three Country Challenges00:04:52
unidentified
There's a deputization piece from the Department of Justice.
So, you know, from the U.S.'s perspective alone, if this was just a U.S. event, it'd be very complicated from a counter-UAS perspective in terms of getting authorities to mitigate.
When you add then the fact that it's three countries, three different laws, it's even more complicated.
But the fact that we're able to work on this a year out, I'd love to have three years to be perfect.
Right.
Think about it.
But a year out is very good.
And it is slightly different, Ambassador Hillman.
You mentioned kind of the idea of traveling between countries.
Well, yeah, you have to cross borders.
Right.
The 2020 Euros was unique.
A, it happened technically in 2021 because of COVID, but it took place in the EU, where once you landed in one country, you can travel between different countries.
Well, that's a very unique set right there.
So this is truly one of the world's great sporting experiences that you guys are truly on the front lines for.
It's fun to watch.
Ambassador Moctezuma, you're the authority figure here when it comes to hosting World Cups.
As I said, this will be the third in your back pocket.
You probably know that this isn't just a breeze.
Are there any issues that you have foreseen or that Mexico has encountered or ones that you see coming maybe that we haven't discussed yet?
Is it when the teams arrive or is there everything actually already been covered in terms of issues?
Well for us I think that the most important challenge is to beat the U.S. while we're negotiating the USMCA review.
That would be very, very bad for us.
No, seriously, I think that we know how to coordinate each other.
We started already and of course security, I agree with Mr. Giuliani and with the ambassador, is the most important challenge.
Also visas and the most important thing is that anything that happens in one of the three countries will affect the image of the World Cup.
So we rely on each other in order to have the greatest World Cup and the most important event in human kind.
But we have to work in a way that the three countries deliver and puts everything set for that to be.
I think it also goes without saying, maybe it doesn't go without saying actually, that the next World Cup is also hosted by three countries, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
And so you're almost setting an example right now.
You're going to hand the keys off and say, hey, this worked, this didn't work, et cetera, et cetera.
So there is actually a lot of learning taking place right now that might be passed down to other nations who might call you up and ask for a reference at some point, if you will.
I want to steer the conversation away from cross-border collaboration to the power of sport, to this idea that Fred Ryan introduced at the beginning of this about good rivals, that sport can foster great competition on the field, that it can help athletes strive for excellence, and that it can also foster respect against the people that you play against.
At the same time, it's a super slippery slope between that and fostering hatred.
You see a lot of fans in the stands chanting things that I don't want to repeat.
You see a lot of fights breaking out on streets.
You see a lot of abuse on social media.
You see players getting at it.
But this idea that sports can represent something greater, can represent playing by the rules, can represent being a civic idol or an example in your society is something that I know is very key to the Reagan Institution, the Reagan Institute's goal with this program with the Rose Bowl Institute.
And Ambassador Hillman, if you don't mind, I'd love your take on this and then to come down the line here.
Kind of from your leadership standpoint, as an official representing Canada, how can your nation best encourage competition on the field, but also respect off of it?
Understand that we as fans are hyping up.
We are so excited to watch teams physically defeat other teams.
It's kind of an unfair moment, pumped with adrenaline, pumped with money, pumped with millions of people watching.
But also, if a player does something despicable, they're scorned.
How can you as an official help transmit a message that sports can stand for something greater than just a 1-0 victory of Canada against Mexico, that it's something that maybe young kids can watch and take, say, I saw that.
That was a good moment of sportsmanship.
Is there something that you can help do, or is it more to the athletes?
Streets Of Barcelona Full Of Fans00:03:40
unidentified
Or can you give us some insight into this?
Okay.
So I'm going to answer this question by relaying an anecdote.
I'm going to ask this question after relaying an anecdote.
For the 2010 World Cup, my husband and I were visiting Barcelona.
And the final was Spain and the Netherlands.
And we went to a local pub to watch the game.
And that pub, you know, had televisions on the wall.
It got more and more full as the night went on to the point where people were pushing their faces literally up against the glass of the pub because they couldn't, there was no more room in the pub for people to sit or stand.
There was a man outside who asked the waiter to come in and ask if we wouldn't mind letting his little son sit beside us.
We were sitting on like a bench seat so he could watch from inside because his feet were sore from standing and pressing his nose against the glass.
It was a magical night.
It was a magical night.
And for those who don't remember this, it ended in extra time with a 1-0 for Spain.
And it was like midnight, 1 o'clock in the morning.
When that happened, as you can imagine, the doors like burst open.
People just filled the streets.
And this is what I remember.
And I think about it often.
So first of all, those streets were full of all kinds of people.
You know, grandmothers with their canes, small little children, lots of revelers who had been in pubs drinking lots of sangria or whatever it was.
But lots of people from all different kinds of demographics and all ages.
And a lot of Dutch fans wearing their orange jerseys.
And what I saw were, first of all, no children getting trampled, grannies getting helped across the street, even though it was this huge rush of happiness and sort of enthusiasm.
But also, a whole bunch of Barcelonians, if that's how you say it, with their arms around their Dutch friends, laughing and hugging and smiling and, you know, reveling in this.
And my husband and I really remarked on this because we thought not what we would have expected necessarily.
The level of friendliness, but also just sort of civic behavior that made it a safe place for everybody in the street.
It was delightful.
So to your question about what we can do, I don't think you get to that place in the streets of Barcelona that night.
I think you get to having that environment in the streets of Barcelona because what you have done to the lead up of that night.
By emphasizing sportsmanship, by emphasizing civility, by emphasizing grace with the people around you, by doing it through, yes, leaders, political or otherwise, but our athletes, right?
Our athletes are role models for our kids and our communities.
It's also they who bring us to that moment, the leadership of organizations.
So I would say it starts now.
Hopefully it's already started, but we have a year.
And it's a year in which, for me anyway, for my country, and I think I'm sure I can speak for all of us, to say that's what we want to foster.
We want to foster the streets of Barcelona at 1 a.m. in 2010.
Belief in Sportsmanship00:08:59
unidentified
That's my goal anyway.
Foster Barcelona 2010.
I'm sure those Dutch fans were thrilled to have people hanging on them.
That said, though, that spirit of the world.
But here is in there how, you know, I mean, it was a great idea.
They made it that far.
Arind Robin should have shot the ball.
He didn't.
And therefore, I remember watching that very well.
Thank you very much.
And I think that rings true.
That what you say or the example that's set does matter and it bleeds into the fans that watch the sport take place.
Ambassador Moctezumi, you actually already gave a slight hint of the way that this sport can expand beyond the field with your social World Cup.
You talked about sportsmanship.
What does this mean to Mexico?
How can Mexico embody the greater ideals of sportsmanship and treating your opponents with respect?
And how can the World Cup help convey this?
I think there is a lot of power in the media in order to promote this kind of behavior.
And I remember in the last World Cup, there was a game where Japan played.
And after the game, everybody run out of the stadium but the Japanese.
And they started to collect all the garbage around the stadium.
I remember this.
And until the stadium was clean, they left.
And I believe they taught us, the world, about how to respect a public place and how to make a public place a public good.
So I think that the media, focusing on this kind of behavior, will help a lot in order to promote this kind of conduct that lift us up.
I remember that example so well because I believe Japan had won the game that had preceded that.
And you'd expect fans to leave, to go drinking, to go celebrating.
No, they stayed and picked up.
And we learned a lot about Japanese culture and sports watching culture through that.
We'll see.
Maybe these stadiums will be spick and span after games.
Everybody laughed.
Mr. Giuliani, same question.
How can sports transcend the field and what can you do in your position or how can you see everybody down to Mauricio Pacitino leveraging this from an American perspective?
Yeah.
Well, Ambassador, in light of your example, we can see why Senator Hayrey wants the Japanese to come to make sense, you know?
So that's obvious it all adds up now.
Look, I think, especially when you think of sports over the last maybe eight to ten years, there have been points where it's gotten more politicized probably than any other point, at least certainly for me, and I've been following sports since I was a little kid.
I loved your example talking about the Calgary Olympics.
I remember as an eight-year-old going to the 94 World Cup and having the opportunity to go to two games there, and it really encapsulated me in a way that no other event that I had been to had.
I remember the go-to sportsmanship example of Baggio, who was the star of that World Cup.
He scored so many goals throughout it and then missed the penalty kick.
His teammates were there for him when he missed that penalty kick.
And I think that's when we talk about sports, the thing that we love so much about it in a world where things are scripted and there are narratives and people are pushing agendas.
And I hope that if they're talking about Andrew Giuliani at the end of this World Cup, then we've failed terribly.
Something really bad has happened.
So hopefully that is not the case.
I'm sure my friends would say that my leftover here.
But sports is so raw, and I think that's what attracts us at such a young age to it, is that it's about the work ethic we put in.
It's the teamwork where we all get together, we bond together, no matter what our background is, what our religious background, what color we are, what our political beliefs could be left, we could be right.
We put on that jersey, and especially when you talk about the World Cup or an Olympics or something like that, you put on your country's flag, the pride that that actually means of those 11 players on the field going toward one goal there.
And you hope they win.
I hope that example that we're talking about, La Ramble, is going to be in Broadway and other streets here, Pennsylvania Avenue, it's right here.
But the thing that we love so much about sports is the fact that it's people coming together on a field for one mission.
And in this instance, it's countries coming together to root on their country.
And it's a whole world coming together to watch how this incredible event can bring out the best in our three host countries and also the 48 countries that are privileged enough to have qualified for this game.
So I hope at the end of this World Cup, you know, obviously we'll all be rooting for our individual countries, but whoever it is, I hope that ultimately the team that does lift up that trophy, that they're there to also give a hug to the team that maybe fell just short.
You think about the last World Cup, how great Membape played, how great France played.
Anybody could have won that game.
But it was beautiful sportsmanship at the end.
I believe it was beautiful sportsmanship at the end.
It was beautiful sports.
I'm saying that it was.
I should remember that part in light of it, but that's really what we're doing.
I don't have any images of Argentinians draping their arms around local Francophiles, but maybe it did exist somewhere.
So this is my final question, and I want a very quick response because then I would like to vacate the stage for the next folks coming up here.
But I love to end panels this way by saying, put yourself a year from now.
You're handing the keys over to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Very quickly, what would you see as a marker that this World Cup was a success?
Ambassador Hillman, if you can start.
I would like to see a fan experience where the fans had a joyous experience together from all over the world.
And, you know, I mean, just to be a diplomat, because that's what I am, grew some understanding by sitting next to someone from a different country, by talking to someone, by having a restaurant meal with someone that they didn't know from a different part of this globe.
And there was incremental understanding between some of these fans.
And I hope that, and I am most confident that, the bond between our three North American partners here will be even stronger a year from now than it is today.
And it's already pretty good.
Thank you.
Ambassador Montezuma.
Well, I think that for them, for the next three countries, to really have a challenge to match the level of these games so that they would say we have a high bar.
I think that would be very nice.
Mr. Giuliani.
Echo what they say.
I look at it a little bit more from a U.S. legacy perspective or say a North American legacy perspective.
I want people as they leave toward the end of January to go back home to tell an incredible story to their family and friends about how incredible this World Cup was and that they need to come back next summer for the next great event or for the Olympics in 2028 or the Women's World Cup in 2031 to talk about, you know, America 250.
Maybe they decided to go to all 16 venues and they've seen the unique, you know, how different Mexico City is from Boston, Massachusetts, then you know, Vancouver, Canada.
I want them to have an incredible story where they can go back home and tell their friends, tell their family that, you know, you want to come to the United States, you want to come to Canada, you want to come to Mexico, and they're planning their next trip on July 20th because it was the greatest experience of their life.
So great.
Ambassador Halen, Ambassador Montezuma, Mr. Giuliani, thank you so much for participating.
Thank you for your work stitching this event together.
And might I say, best of luck to all three nations.
Thank you for that.
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