Photo courtesy of NJ Chamber of Commerce.
Exciting, humbling and scary is how Alex Lasry described the opportunity of being the CEO of the FIFA World Cup 26™ NYNJ Host Committee as they prepare for the “largest event in human history.”
The FIFA World Cup, which is coming to the New York / New Jersey area next year, will bring eight games to MetLife Stadium, including five group stage games, one round of 32 and 16 fixtures and, of course, the final.
If you didn’t already know, that’s a pretty big deal for New Jersey.
Over one million people are expected to visit the New York and New Jersey area where Hudson County will be a center hub between the city and MetLife Stadium, which is in East Rutherford.
“We want to put on games that’s worthy of New York/New Jersey that kind of lives up to the hype of this region because we’re going to be welcoming millions of people from all around the world, and all around the country coming to our region to kind of see the greatness that is New York/New Jersey,” Lasry told Slice of Culture.
“And I think we have a responsibility to ensure that we put on a game that lives up to that.”
Before assuming the chief executive officer role earlier this year, Lasry worked in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Obama White House, helped run the Milwaukee Bucks and was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism during the Biden administration where the Olympics and World Cup were part of his portfolio.
Throughout his career, he has been able to build relationships in sports, government and see how major events are put together. He said thanks to his extensive years of working in politics, sports, events and sales he’s geared up to take on one of the biggest roles yet.
“You can’t put on an event like this without great relationships and coordination between the federal government and state and local governments as well as the private sector,” Lasry said.
“I think kind of all of that and all that I’ve kind of done, has been able to lead me to being in a position to hopefully put on a successful World Cup.”
Since starting the position, Lasry and the host committee have been working with state and local governments to ensure safety and security, reliable transportation, economic impact and fan engagement for the region.
They have been collaborating with New Jersey and Hudson County to ensure that fans coming from all around the world get the authentic New York / New Jersey experience especially during the 39-day FIFA Fan Festival™, which will take place at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Fans will be able to watch live match broadcasts, experience music, culture, food, entertainment and a one-of-a-kind World Cup atmosphere in New Jersey at the fan festival.
Lasry has also been working with the county to ensure local businesses take advantage of the $3 billion economic impact that is expected to hit the region.
“This is a chance for us to really kind of show the world that this is the place you wanna be, and that’s going to help [bring] more investments in the community, more tourism [and] more economic impact,” explained Lasry.
“And then hopefully, you know, a lasting legacy, especially in a place like Hudson County that’ll show that we can do big and ambitious things.”
Lasry also aspires to showcase that this region is a soccer hub and that it has the potential to be “one of the great soccer powerhouses in the world.”
“That’s a legacy that we wanna leave,” said Lasry.
Any businesses interested in learning more on how to get involved and prepare for the World Cup can go to their official website and check out their community toolkit to learn more about how to get involved, put on your own watch party or create your own fan experience. You can also go to visithudson.org for more information.
To keep up-to-date on all that the host committee is doing, you can sign up to their newsletter or follow their socials to see what they are promoting.
