The 2026 World Cup in the United States is stunning global football fans with sky-high costs. Not only flights and hotels, but even travel between stadiums has become a major financial burden.
In the past, host nations such as Germany (2006), Russia (2018), and Qatar (2022) invested heavily in public transport, even offering free long-distance trains and subways to serve fans. However, the US is taking a completely different approach.
Matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts will apply round-trip train fares of $98 and $80 respectively, while American football fans pay just $12.90 and $20 for the same routes. Local authorities explain they must cover security costs and expanded rail services without burdening taxpayers.
In response, 37-year-old Scotland fan Rory Phillips-Hunter, along with the Tartan Army group, devised their own plan. They hired 20 school buses to carry nearly 1,000 members from Providence, Rhode Island, to Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Scotland plays its first two matches. The ticket price is just $50 per person, roughly half the $95 offered by local authorities. The group thus saved more than $85,000. They also received a police escort.
“When I look at that cost disparity, that’s the profit you’re taking from us,” Phillips-Hunter said. He noted it would take two years to pay off the credit card debt for his six-day trip to the US, including $1,350 for a match ticket to see Scotland vs. Morocco.
Not every host city is handling it this way. Atlanta, Houston, and Seattle have stadiums directly connected to subway systems with standard fares. Miami-Dade announced free shuttles to Hard Rock Stadium. Philadelphia offers free return trips thanks to sponsorship from Airbnb. Kansas City runs buses for $15.
David Gogishvili, a researcher at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, says FIFA pushing costs onto the host nation is standard practice. But the difference this time is that US officials are “stronger and more independent,” less willing to “bow to FIFA’s wishes.” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has called on FIFA to cover transport costs.
FIFA counters that no global event has been asked to absorb such costs. Initial agreements with host cities required free transport, which was later amended to allow charging “at actual cost.”
A 2022 study showed that most World Cups from 1966 to 2018 operated at a loss. Concerns over transport costs have grown as hotel bookings across the 11 host cities fell short of expectations.
Ynara Correa da Costa, a Brazilian fan attending her seventh World Cup, said she was shocked when the train fare from New York to MetLife reached $150. After backlash, the price dropped to $98. But so far, only 18,000 bus seats are available to MetLife Stadium, which has a capacity of 82,500. “We’ll get to the match, I know that. But how? Let’s see,” she said.
