The excitement prompts fans to ask: Is the World Cup worth the expense?

Parking in a World Cup city costs over $200 and that’s not at the stadium. The train fare is four times the normal fare in other cities. A matchday hotel room in the highest-priced locales can cost around $700. And a fan group has accused FIFA of “extortionate” ticket prices.

The list of hassles, headaches and rising costs continues to grow as the World Cup approaches, prompting fans in the 11 World Cup host cities around the United States to question whether the expense of watching the games in person is worth it. Canada and Mexico are also hosting the games, but they appear to have generated far fewer complaints.

Fifa spokesman Adam Geigermann said in a statement to ESPN that revenue generated from tickets is reinvested in “the global development of football”. He added: “Unlike the companies behind profit-driven third-party ticket marketplaces, FIFA is a non-profit organization.”

FIFA predicts at least $11 billion in revenue from the games.

But fans are asking: Aside from a lot of annoyances, are they getting in return after spending all that hard-earned cash?

FIFA responded in a statement saying “the World Cup will bring millions of fans … with associated economic impact.”

For many, the promise of future convenience is overshadowed by a maze of ticketing levels, multifaceted transport guidelines and head-spinning logistics. Challenges are mounting in some places as the matches draw closer — especially as visa delays and US travel restrictions limit some fans’ ability to travel.

More than a million international visitors will come to the United States for the matches, which begin June 12 in Inglewood, California, and conclude with the final July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to research firm Tourism Economics.

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, told ESPN that the matches in the United States will amount to 78 Super Bowls over 39 days. The federal government is focused on making them all safe and accessible, he said, citing the allocation of several million dollars to support security and transit ahead of the tournament.

But Giuliani, who has lived in New York for most of his life, outlined how a trip from a New York airport to East Rutherford via public transit can be difficult on a typical day, with commuters navigating multiple train lines to cover less than 30 miles.

It’s complicated even for native English speakers, he said. “It’s very difficult when there’s a language barrier. We’ve talked to the U.S. ambassadors as well as some of the embassies in D.C. to get this message out in advance. That way, it can help people make their plans.”

Fans who hope Argentina’s title defense will start in Kansas City on June 16 before heading more than 500 miles to Arlington, Texas for the June 22 match. Then they will have five more days of living expenses before Argentina’s next group stage game in Arlington on June 27.

“The travel distances are too long,” said fan Rodrigo Lipara, 52, from Buenos Aires, who will not attend. “And, when you add the cost of the stadium, the food, the hotel and everything else, I think it really discourages Argentines who are obviously not upper class.”

Public transit, a staple in major Argentine cities as well as in Europe, can prove far less reliable getting to some of the more distant stadiums.

Thiago Deya, commercial executive at Somos Argentina, the official travel agency for the Argentine national team, told ESPN that his company had to secure buses, vans and cars to get to Arrowhead Stadium, which is not in the city center.

“It increases costs,” he said.

That doesn’t even account for tickets, which are available in four main categories. In September, FIFA said tickets purchased through its website could cost a minimum of $60 for the group stage and a maximum of $6,730 for the final. But FIFA’s dynamic pricing means those prices can change.

Fan group Football Supporters Europe has called it a “monumental betrayal” by FIFA for the “extortionate” price. FIFA then released $60 seats during the third ticket phase in December when fans could apply for specific matches for the first time. FIFA then said there were 5 million ticket requests in the first 24 hours of that episode.

But in early April, FIFA added more expensive “front divisions,” leaving fans riled about what they’d get for what they paid.

“The people in charge of the World Cup,” said Michael Collins, director of Scottish fans and social justice coalition Play Fair ATL, “have dollar bills on their minds, not people.” He said he would attend the home matches in Foxboro, Massachusetts, despite the cost.

Yvonne David, a Dutch football fan and member of the same group, said the high price effectively acts as a barrier for fans based on their earnings. “I refuse to pay that much,” he said, explaining why he wouldn’t follow his country to Dallas, Houston or Kansas City.

FIFA’s resale marketplace — where it does not control listing prices but takes a 30% cut — at one point listed four tickets for the final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for $2.3 million. Seats are in the 45th row. Someone listed a seat in the last row of the third deck for $138,000 for that game. Quarterfinal matchups in Foxboro, Inglewood, Kansas City and Miami had some prices in the four figures and the Arlington semifinals in the five figures.

Fans will also need accommodation. According to Lighthouse, which compiles hotel rate data, the average hotel price for a matchday in late April ranged from $254 per night in San Francisco and $264 per night in Houston to $662 per night in Boston.

“The hotels that I’ve talked to, they’re a little surprised that they’re not booking more,” said Rep. Josh Harder, Democrat of San Francisco, “and I think that’s largely down to tickets being less affordable than people expected.”

Overall, hotels have cut rates since late November, Lighthouse data revealed, including a 20% price drop in New York City. A Lighthouse representative told ESPN that the hotel rates were likely set in early December, the city’s busy season, and adjusted from there.

cost of receipt Getting to and from the stadium is another bone of contention for fans and politicians alike. NJ Transit will charge ticket holders $150 roundtrip from Penn Station in New York City to MetLife Stadium. That trip usually costs $12.90.

“New Jerseyans shouldn’t be stuck with the bill while FIFA makes $11 million,” New Jersey Gov. Mickey Sherrill wrote in X . He explained that the high price reflects the financial burden New Jersey Transit would have to “carry four times the normal ridership for the event at the venue, at a cost of $8 million.”

FIFA took issue with Sherrill’s suggestion that it would subsidize fan transit. “FIFA is not aware of any other major event previously held at NYNJ Stadium… where the organizers have to pay for fan transport,” a FIFA statement said.

FIFA World Cup 2026 chief event operations officer Heimo Shirgi warned that NJ transit pricing is a “chilling effect”, pushing fans away from public transport and increasing congestion.

In March, trains from Boston’s South Station to Foxboro ran on time for a friendly between Brazil and France, but ridership could increase tenfold for the World Cup, according to local officials. An hour-long trip this summer will cost $80, four times the cost of the same trip to New England Patriots games. An express bus will cost $95.

Prices are significantly cheaper elsewhere, such as in Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta — all of which have round-trip fares of $5 or less.

In Miami, where 600,000 fans are expected, some ticket holders will receive free transportation to Hard Rock Stadium. “We know this is a global phenomenon happening in the middle of a working community,” said Miami-Dade County Transportation Official Roger Borges. Hard Rock Stadium was the scene of chaos in 2024 as fans thronged the ticket turnstiles — a warning to World Cup planners of how bad things could get. This helped expedite greater security perimeters and other measures for World Cup matches.

Fans weighing their own cars may want to think again. Gillette Stadium will have just 5,000 parking spots for the World Cup, 15,000 less than usual. According to Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace, at the Brazil-France match in March, 7,000 fans were stymied by overwhelming traffic on local streets, preventing them from starting the World Cup dry run.

There is no general parking at MetLife Stadium. American Dream Mall, half a mile away, has limited parking for $225, but parking for the finale is already sold out. Local officials warned fans not to walk along Interstate 95 for the match.

The price is even worse at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where it can cost $300. All cities except Atlanta charge three figures for their cheapest spots, where a spot costs $99.99.

Fan festivals have also caused some confusion. Seattle announced in October 2024 that it would welcome 500,000 fans to the Seattle Center, a 74-acre outdoor venue, before switching to multiple other venues.

New York-New Jersey canceled its single event in February at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, in front of the Statue of Liberty, in favor of multiple events across the region, including one free event in each of New York’s five boroughs.

Around the world, there are many stories like that of Hazel Stewart, an unofficial spokesperson for the Tartan Army, a proud traveling band of Scottish supporters. Stewart said he could not afford to go to France in 1998.

Scotland’s nearly three-decade World Cup drought ended with a qualifier win over Denmark in November. Stewart bought a $6,000 ticket package for three scheduled games (two in Foxboro, one in Miami), taking away bonuses from his compliance job at a London investment firm. He estimated it could cost $20,000 to follow his team to the United States.

“How can a working man afford it from Scotland?” Stewart asked.

Barring the cost of living in Boston, Stewart and 10,000 fellow fans plan to descend on nearby Providence, Rhode Island, where they hope to march through the streets with bagpipes. Scottish bands will perform in local pubs Stewart warned their owners to overstock the beer.

The Providence contingent, numbering about 1,000, plans to ride 21 yellow school buses to the first match against Haiti. Buses will leave at least four hours prior to the game using a Rhode Island Police escort for the first leg of the journey. Stewart and the Tartan Army worked with the city to plan their own.