Program
From Kickoff to Consensus: The 2026 FIFA World Cup and North American Cross-Border Cooperation
Session Abstracts
Symposium Recordings
World Cup 2026 & USMCA Symposium Day 1
World Cup 2026 & USMCA Symposium Day 2
From Kickoff to Consensus: The 2026 FIFA World Cup and North American Cross-Border Cooperation
March 13-14, 2026
Symposium Introduction
Welcome & Remarks
Karen Jones
Executive Director, Global and Graduate Programs
University of Houston Law Center
The FIFA 2026 World Cup in North America – Overview and Key Themes
Brian Michael Cooper
OF Counsel
Greenberg Traurig LLP
USMCA Five-Year Review and Regional Integration
Julian Cardenas
Research Assistant Professor
Director, Center for U.S. and Mexican Law
University of Houston Law Center
Fireside Chat
Lynn Carrillo de la Camara
Director of Commercial Legal
FIFA
and
Matt Mitten
Director of the National Sports Law Institute
Marquette University Law School
Session I: Legal and Institutional Frameworks
Moderator: Yigal Saghian
OF Counsel
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Alberto Ugarte
Program Director
Tecnologico de Monterrey
Alina Gamboa Combs
Lecturer and Researcher
Universidad Anahuac
Session II: Trade, Labor, and Mobility
Moderator: Julian Cardenas
Research Assistant Professor
Director, Center for U.S. and Mexican Law
University of Houston Law Center
Cato Willems
PhD Researcher
KU LEUVEN
Rodolfo Rueda Ballesteros
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP
Santiago Isusi Jiménez
Policy Advisor
Holland & Knight LLP
Final Comments Day One
Leonard M. Baynes
Dean, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen
Distinguished Chair, and Professor of Law
University of Houston Law Center
Session III: Human Rights, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution
Moderator: Matt Mitten
Professor of Law and Executive Director
National Sports Law Institute
Marquette University Law School
Karen Jones
Executive Director, Global and Graduate Programs
University of Houston Law Center
Frea de Keyzer
Counsel & Head of Women’s Football
Session IV: Technology, Media, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure
Moderator: Karen Jones
Executive Director, Global and Graduate Programs
University of Houston Law Center
Guillermo Mendoza
Director for Risk and Political Analysis
Ansley Consultores Internacionales
Dionne Koller
Professor of Law & Director
University of Baltimore School of Law
James Gengaro
1L Student
University of Houston Law Center
