With the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup quickly approaching, emergency managers and planners across the United States (US) are intensifying preparedness efforts. An estimated 450,000 to 750,000 visitors are expected to travel to 11 host cities during the games, placing significant demands on local infrastructure, coordination, and response capabilities. This level of activity underscores the importance of collaboration, planning, expertise, and resources to ensure a safe and successful event.
In support of these efforts, Hagerty partnered with Miami-Dade County in March 2026 to conduct a Continuity of Operations (COOP) functional exercise ahead of the World Cup in Miami, Florida. Our goal was to ensure the County is prepared to respond with confidence and agility in the face of disruption.
The exercise, titled Operation Nutmeg, was a strong success. Following its completion, we spoke with Dr. Jesse Spearo, Assistant Director, and Alazandria Cruze, Emergency Management Planner, from the Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management to reflect on their experience and key takeaways.
Hagerty Managing Associate Hannah Shaltiel (standing) conducting the exercise.
Miami-Dade County’s Perspective
Explore the County’s key insights and takeaways from this exercise as it prepares for the upcoming World Cup.
Special events come with complex requirements, diverse stakeholders, and various disruption risks. In what ways has this exercise helped the County streamline plans, coordinate partners, and strengthen operational readiness?
Alazandria:
The ability to test our COOP plans with nearly 20 of our county departments and two of our constitutional offices allowed us to streamline our partner coordination. It allowed everyone to focus on their mission-essential functions, define who is needed to sustain them, and ensure County operations can continue without disruption.
Operation Nutmeg allowed us to see where some of the gaps were so that we can ensure, especially leading up to the World Cup, that—whether it is a complex coordinated terrorist attack (CCTA), a loss of electricity, or a cyberattack—those plans are truly in place. It allowed us to operationalize these plans for the first time in the County, versus just walking through the steps. It was a great opportunity, and we really learned what we needed to strengthen for the next continuity cycle.
Jesse:
We used Operation Nutmeg as an event scenario to walk through a lot of COOP activation triggers and convert them into clearer “if/then” decision points for activating continuity measures throughout the county. This included who must be notified, what transport or relocation actions are necessary, essential functions and those priorities, as well as the transition back to normal.
In addition, it helped reconcile some of those confusing grey areas when it comes to the initial fog of response. That also helped empower our organizations to know and understand what their role and functions are. Now that we have actually exercised that, we see how the process is able to unfold successfully. It helped shape our overall understanding of shared operational coordination, whether for a sporting or special event like the World Cup or for a storm, fire, flood, or hurricane.
Hagerty Managers Claire Doyle and Alejandro Munera with the County team.
Please describe specific aspects of this exercise that your team found unique or especially useful in enhancing organizational preparedness ahead of the World Cup.
Jesse:
What stood out most was how well-developed the exercise was. It reflected Hagerty’s core capabilities, but more importantly, it made clear their investment in the future safety of Miami-Dade County and its residents—bringing added value to the entire process.
Clearly defining everything in advance during the exercise planning cycle and incorporating all major partners who are decision-makers was critically important. Some of the areas that we covered in the exercise were the command and control decisions, policies and procedures—and how to put them in motion—interagency coordination and communication among partners, and what happens to a facility and its staff if access is unavailable. What are the real decisions that need to be made, who can make them, and how do we build muscle memory for cross-functional collaboration—especially between operations and planning functions, logistics, and the various critical sites throughout the county?
Alazandria:
What really set this exercise apart was Hagerty’s ability to make it feel real. When they simulated a power outage in the EOC—turning off the lights and having us shut everything down—it completely changed the dynamic. At first, people thought it was accidental, but once we realized we were in a full blackout, it brought a level of realism that made the exercise far more valuable.
The amount of detail that Hagerty was able to build into this exercise, even just from the number of injects coming from all different sides and angles, was very complete and complex. That is what I think made our Operation Nutmeg COOP exercise different than any other.
In what ways does your team feel more confident about its preparedness and response posture for a high-profile event such as the World Cup after this exercise?
Alazandria:
Operation Nutmeg was timed perfectly to support our next COOP cycle. Hagerty’s after-action report was comprehensive and immediately actionable, allowing us to share it with partners as they began building their 2026 plans. It helped agencies align lessons learned, identify gaps, and strengthen their COOPs—especially as we prepare for the World Cup.
We have had a lot of great feedback from our partner agencies that, in the beginning, were not so sure about how it was all going to come together. Now, they realize the benefit of taking part and want to do more workshops moving forward. The functional exercise helped bring their COOPs to life and showed them how their plans perform under pressure.
From a confidence standpoint, Hannah and Mallory from Hagerty made sure they truly understood how each participating department operates. They took the time to really understand how everything works—asking if scenarios were realistic, how systems function day-to-day, and what would actually happen if those systems went offline. That way, when our departments and constitutional offices were moving through the exercise, it was not hypothetical—all these things affected them. As a result, our departments left with greater confidence in their ability to operate through disruptions. Without that level of effort, the outcome—and the confidence it built—would not have been the same.
Jesse:
For a lot of them, it changed their understanding and paradigm of what continuity is, why we do it, and why it is important. The exercise helped develop confidence, demonstrating that we can continue essential functions under realistic pressures and do so capably. That was really great to see from our players because many of them had never actually done an exercise before, let alone a continuity exercise. The decisions they were empowered to make helped them build the confidence to make decisions in real time.
I believe that Operation Nutmeg helped us in Miami-Dade County to validate and understand that we can keep essential services running even if the World Cup kicks us a curveball.
The Hagerty team, including Mallory Buys-Brown, Claire Doyle, and Brian Baker, in the EOC.
Hagerty Can Help
Any successful special event, whether it is a large public gathering or high-visibility operation, requires clear planning, coordinated partners, and strong operational readiness. Through structured planning, targeted training, realistic exercises, and post-event evaluation, Hagerty enables clients to protect attendees, maintain continuity, and manage incidents quickly and effectively.
We are proud to partner with Miami-Dade County and support their continuity planning efforts to help ensure the safety and security of their people and visitors through any disruption that may come their way.
Learn more about our special event capabilities to see how Hagerty can elevate your preparedness and response posture for high-profile events.