Can FIFA save the 2026 World Cup before it’s too late?

Featured image is the author’s program from the 1994 World Cup, signed by Cameroon striker Roger Milla. Will he be getting a program from this years World Cup?

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Two weeks ago, I texted the PSN group chat to see if anyone else was interested in heading to a World Cup game in Philadelphia. Among the (magnificent) seven of us; Jordan Smith, Rachel Palmer, Matt Popchock,  Colton Coreschi, John Krysinsky, Ed Thompson, and me; nobody was particularly enthusiastic about going to any World Cup games.

Let me unpack that for a sec. The PSN staff are arguably the biggest soccer sickos in Pittsburgh. Rachel will happily go to a WPIAL girls 2A quarterfinal in Zelienople, sit at the corner flag with a camera and a laptop and get grass stains on her jeans while scarfing a lukewarm hotdog for dinner – in the name of football. Colton regularly charts US Open Cup games for Opta because it’s good for the sport. John Krysinsky devotes hours of his life to meticulously documenting the beautiful game here in W. PA. Etcetera, Etcetera. We eat sleep and breathe football. And now the most important men’s tournament on earth is just a six-hour drive from our doors. And only one of us (me) is even mildly interested in going. What gives?

There are a variety of reasons, but mostly, it all comes down to price. Apologies in advance for the fruity language.

Ah yes. ‘Fuck that’ indeed.

FIFA has famously priced this tournament well out of the range of all but the wealthiest 2% of Americans. For the US-Paraguay opener on June 12, FIFA began charging $2,735 for Category 1 seats and $1,940 for Category 2 seats.*  Ticket prices are falling – that same ticket Cat 1  is now listing on the secondary market for $1,323 –  but it seems like most of your PSN staff feel the price is still not worth it, or we were still roundly disgusted by FIFA’s attempt to bilk us and thus we refuse to participate. But take it from Matt Popchock and Colton Coreschi:

 

Matt and Colton are pretty frustrated by FIFA’s attempt to fleece the American sports fan, and are inclined to boycott the matches. Not because they can’t pay for the World Cup, but rather because they won’t pay. And I think that’s telling.

I myself can’t figure out how I feel.

I’ve been watching this ticketing-vibes-fiasco closely from the beginning, and at first, I thought I could sidestep it by attempting to go for free as press. Which I think was a legitimate media request because, you know, I’ve been writing about domestic soccer for 12 years for (brace yourself for some shameless self-promotion)  The Athletic**, the Denver Post,  Holding the High Line, Burgundy Wave, and Pittsburgh Soccer Now. FIFA was like: naw, dog. Why? I’m not sure. But its possible that they have so many global sports media requests that local American soccer reporters just don’t rate for them.

But then I thought: it’s the World Cup. I want to go. I’d happily take in any match in Philadelphia that is priced reasonably. So I set my eyes on Curaçao-Côte d’Ivoire, because it’ll be cheap and fun. ‘Cheap’, however, quickly revealed itself to be a relative term.

At first glance on the FIFA website back in December and Janaury, Category 3 tickets were going for $450. For me and one kid to go to one game, including gas and a hotel room and food, would be roughly $1,300. That seemed … insane. For that price, I could also drive to DC, stay at a gorgeous hotel, eat a $150 per person dinner at a fine restaurant, and get two tickets to a Washington Spirit NWSL match. OR! A kid and I could fly to Denver, stay with friends, and go see Colorado Rapids play LAFC with Son min Heung, or Vancouver with Thomas Müller. Or I could drive to Loudoun and see the Riverhounds play Loudoun, and eat some nachos and … still have $1,215 spend on other stuff.

It’s pretty clear that FIFA priced a lot of these tickets far too high. But it looks like those prices are coming down. I’ve been documenting it myself.

Maybe they’ll fall more? I still haven’t decided if I’m going.

My point is: the narrative about the World Cup so far has not been good. So many articles have been written about FIFA overcharging for the tickets and generating obscene revenue – FIFA chief Gianni Infantino told the NY Times that he expected FIFA would take in $11 billion from this World Cup alone – that hardly anybody is talking about the football.

That will probably change, as John Krysinsky wisely suggested in our group chat.

Facts.

As soon as the games kick off, many of us, indeed, will go to bars, or to the Riverhounds Watch Party at FNB Stadium (which is free!) or at our own homes, where we can just enjoy the football and not fret about how much it hammered our pocketbooks.***

Obviously, FIFA is going to be fine. They made their money. So when I say ‘can FIFA save the 2026 World Cup?’, I mean its reputation; the vibes; the lasting impression that American sports fans have towards this tournament. Many American sports fans will watch this tournament on tv and be really jazzed about, and perhaps even be blissfully unaware there ever was a ticket price controversy at all.

But I can’t help but worry that in the egregious overpricing of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA made the entire tournament about profit-maximization. It will all have been about short-term greed, and that decision will ultimately harm the potential long-term growth of the game here in the US.

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* There are four categories of seats. Category 4 are the affordable nosebleeds; however, there have been precious few of those for sale.

** It was one article, back when then they had freelance assignments. It’s still basically the highlight of my writing career.

*** Does anyone really carry a pocketbook any more?