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Dubbed “Sommermarchen,” or “The Legend of Summer,” the 2006 World Cup in Germany was a much-lauded demonstration of a modern, unified world that was welcoming fans from around the world.
One of the successes was the “KombiTicket”, which gave fans access to public transport on game days.
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Since then, the countries hosting the International Committee have invested heavily in getting fans to go and return the matches, especially in Russia in 2018, where even long-distance trains between the host cities were free, and in Qatar in 2022, where the free access to the metro helped turn the stadium into a part of the game.
Then came the United States.
Already reeling from sky-high ticket prices, high airfares and high hotel prices, fans are outraged to discover that going to other stadiums via rail will come with a hefty price tag: $98 for train rides in New Jersey and $80 in Massachusetts — trips that would normally cost NFL fans $12.90 and $20, respectively.
Officials insist they are not trying to hurt fans, but instead are just trying to cover the cost of safety and increase train services without costing taxpayers. But fans see it as another way organizers are burdening fans who are already paying big to travel to the US, a big, traffic-heavy country where public transport has long been an afterthought in many areas.
Unlike previous hosts, some state and local officials have been reluctant to swallow the money, saying it should be paid by FIFA, the world soccer governing body that wants to take billions of dollars from the event.
“The preparation for this World Cup has been tough from start to finish,” said Scottish-born Rory Phillips-Hunter, a 37-year-old hospitality worker based in the north of England. “I think it’s the most inaccessible road ever.”
Perplexed by the lack of cheap ways to travel the 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Providence, Rhode Island, to Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Scotland’s first two matches will take place, Phillips-Hunter and the rest of the Tartan Army decided to find out for themselves.
At about $50 per person, the Scots have booked about 20 buses to take around 1,000 members of the fancy dress team to each game. They’re even getting a police escort, all for more than half the $95 bus fare that local authorities are offering – a total savings of more than $85,000.
The $95 bus fare isn’t broke, Phillips-Hunter knows, but he and many other Scots are already paying a fortune to see their men’s team compete in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Phillips-Hunter estimates it will take him two years to pay off the credit card debt he’s racking up on his six-day trip to the US, including the $1,350 he spent on a ticket to the Scotland vs. Morocco game.
More than anything, Mr Phillips-Hunter is disappointed that a group of Scots from overseas were able to arrange transport at a much cheaper rate than the local authorities offered.
“When I look at the price difference, it’s the profit you’re taking from us,” he said.
Not every city you live in approaches transportation in the same way. Atlanta, Houston and Seattle have stadiums that are directly connected to their subways, and the fares will always be there. Miami-Dade County officials recently announced that they will provide free shuttles for fans to and from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from downtown Miami. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is offering free rides back from the stadium, thanks to funding from FIFA sponsoring Airbnb. And Kansas City, Missouri, is running $15 shuttles.
The high cost of games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts is partly because they are located in rural areas, and many fans travel to the NFL games they usually host. But parking will be limited during the World Cup due to increased security, broadcasting needs and lots used as VIP areas, forcing many fans to use public transport.
David Gogishvili is a senior researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and studies how sports organizers organize big events like the World Cup.
He said it is a regular practice for organizers like FIFA to give more money to the host countries. The difference this time is that the US has “strong and independent” state and local authorities who are not willing to take the cost and “bow to the will of FIFA”.
“These funds should be borne by the organization that receives money from these events, which is FIFA. It should not be the spectacular cities that take all the money,” said Gogishvili, noting that the football association expects $13bn from 2023-2026.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, has asked FIFA to fund the match.
But FIFA pushed back, saying no other international event had been asked to take on such a fee and that its original agreements with host cities required free transport for fans to all matches. The contracts were later amended to allow cities to provide transportation “at cost”.
The reason transportation has become so popular at the recent World Cup is that host nations Russia and Qatar have seen the tournament as a “public relations project,” and have supported transportation, Gogishvili said.
Officials’ worries about travel costs also come amid growing concern that the financial future of the World Cup may not materialize, with hotel bookings falling short of expectations in most of the 11 US cities that will host the tournament. A 2022 study by Gogishvili found that almost every World Cup from 1966 to 2018 went bankrupt.
Yonah Freemark, a researcher at the Washington-based Urban Institute think tank who specializes in transportation, said World Cup fans from Europe and Asia will experience less expensive but cheaper transportation options than back home.
Commenting on match-fixing rates in New Jersey and Massachusetts, Freemark said officials “wanted to kill someone”. The wait time and access, he added, may not be what most foreign tourists are used to.
Ynara Correa da Costa, Brazil’s performance analyst who lives outside Sao Paulo, will attend the seventh World Cup.
Like many, he was shocked when officials decided to charge him $150 to travel from New York City to MetLife Stadium, where Brazil is playing its opening match against Morocco. The shock wave led New Jersey officials to drop the price to $98 after raising additional funds.
But even the lower price for short-haul flights is “not acceptable”, Costa said.
Costa was encouraged when the local tourism board said it had found more buses to reach the stadium and reduced the fare from $80 to $20. But there are enough bus seats for 18,000 fans to get to the stadium, which seats about 82,500.
This seems to be too much trouble for Costa. Earlier, he wondered if he and other cash-strapped fans would have to travel to MetLife Stadium, but it’s unlikely.
“We’re going to play, that’s all I know,” Costa said. “But what? Let’s see.”
