Miami-Dade County Vice Chairman Kionne L. McGhee is calling for an immediate halt to all local spending tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, demanding that $46 million in allocated funds instead be redirected to community programs recently impacted by proposed budget cuts.
McGhee, who initially supported the effort to bring the global soccer event to South Florida, said the decision comes in response to the Mayor’s proposed budget, which he argues slashes vital funding for senior services, children’s food programs, trauma and mental health care, and local nonprofits.
“I was proud to support bringing the World Cup to Miami-Dade,” McGhee said in a statement. “But the Mayor’s proposed budget, which guts critical nonprofits and our county’s Community Action Agency, changes everything.”
Among the programs reportedly affected by recent cuts are senior support services such as meal delivery and transportation, summer lunch initiatives for food-insecure children, trauma counseling for survivors, mental health resources, cultural arts grants, and the testing of backlogged rape kits.
McGhee criticized the continued funding for FIFA-related events while these services face reductions. “Entertainment cannot come before humanity,” he said. “This is not fiscal responsibility—it is moral failure.”
The Vice Chairman laid out three key demands:
- Immediate Suspension of all World Cup-related funding in Miami-Dade.
- Reallocation of $46 million in unspent or uncommitted funds to restore grants for nonprofits and community service agencies.
- Transparent Public Audit of current World Cup expenditures.
McGhee vowed to oppose any World Cup-related spending until the budget restores funding to the affected programs.
“Miami-Dade’s soul is not for sale. We choose communities over stadiums, people over spectacle, and compassion over glamour,” said McGhee.
This is a Hy-Lo News Staff Report.
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