On June 11, the 2026 World Cup officially opened in Mexico City. The matches are being held in Mexico, Canada and the U.S. This time, the long-anticipated event promises to be unprecedentedly expensive for fans due to FIFA cutting its operating costs by more than $100 million.
Amid a lack of financing from FIFA, the burden of organizing matches has been passed to city governments. In New York, for example, football fans must pay $150 for train fare to get to and from the stadium, while the standard fare costs just $13.
Furthermore, the matches are spread across the entire continent, and airlines have taken advantage by raising prices.
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«The 2026 World Cup has clearly demonstrated that expanding the tournament and chasing billions in revenue are killing the very idea of a football festival. By turning the World Cup into a business project, the organizers have stripped it of the romance, accessibility and comfort that made previous tournaments unforgettable,» a Threads user wrote.
Many other social media users living in the cities where World Cup matches will be held supported this post in the comments. For many foreign fans, the logistics of the World Cup in the U.S. are inconvenient, while many Americans consider the event too expensive and have no plans to attend. As a result, everyone suffers. In Mexico, football is beloved by millions, while in the U.S. and Canada the sport has traditionally attracted less interest, for historical reasons.
«We live next to MetLife Stadium (a multi-purpose stadium in New Jersey where the World Cup final will be held). We’re going to have eight matches, including the final. This World Cup is pure hell for us. Not only are all the trains dedicated to fans on match days, but there’s also a transportation collapse and prices for everything have skyrocketed. The state is spending millions of dollars, while residents get nothing in return except inconvenience,» one user wrote.
Meanwhile, sports bars in Almaty and Astana are switching to special operating hours and are prepared to open even in the morning, as broadcasts from North America will begin for Kazakhstani fans at 12:00 a.m., 3:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., and even 9:00 a.m.
