Feeling priced out of tickets to watch their teams at the World Cup, fans opt for cheaper matches

Feeling priced out of tickets to watch their teams at the World Cup, fans opt for cheaper matches “If I didn’t get to a game during the whole tournament, I would have regretted it,” one fan told CNA's Matthew Mohan. LOS ANGELES, California: Mr Juan Velosa is neither from the Ivory Coast nor Curacao, but come Jun 25, he'll be in the stands at the Philadelphia Stadium watching both nations go head to head at the World Cup. Born in Bogota but based in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr Velosa had been hoping to watch his beloved Colombia in action. “I realised I wasn't able to attend any Colombia games pretty early on because, as soon as they announced the prices and the locations, I knew it was going to be completely out of reach for me,” he told CNA. Factor in the cost of travelling to Mexico or Miami, and it would have been simply too big an expense. But when he checked prices for all the games out of curiosity about a month ago, he found a bargain. “When I saw that some of the games were priced at a level that was accessible, I started checking all the cities that I could realistically travel to. More than anything, I just wanted to go to the cheapest game,” said Mr Velosa. That game was the Ivory Coast versus Curacao. “I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say I went to a World Cup and experienced what a World Cup game is like for myself,” said Mr Velosa, who purchased a ticket for US$270. “Last year, I attended the Club World Cup in Philadelphia as well, and that was one of my favourite experiences of all time. So I'm hoping this will be just as rewarding.” BIG TALKING POINT High ticket prices are no surprise as this is the first World Cup in the US since 1994, University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor Ovunc Yilmaz told CNA. "Given the scale of demand in the US, Canada, and Mexico, high prices were always very likely," he added. For this World Cup, dynamic pricing is being used for the first time. It means ticket prices may vary dramatically, both across games and even for a given game over time. "If there's relatively little demand, then prices go down until you've sold all the tickets available - unless you have a product that no one really wants, and that's definitely not the case with the World Cup," said Richard Sheehan, who is an economics professor at the University of Notre Dame. The initial baseline for Category 1 tickets was reportedly about US$600 when they first went on sale in the autumn of 2025, but now, they generally sell for over US$1,000 and sometimes much higher. FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended FIFA's ticket pricing following criticism from supporters who argued the cost of attending matches had become prohibitive. However, groups such as Football Supporters Europe (FSE) had warned that "extortionate" pricing would exclude ordinary fans. According to FSE, ticket prices for this tournament have jumped fivefold, compared to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The issue was again brought to the fore over the weekend following swathes of empty seats during the Czech Republic's clash with South Korea in Guadalajara. FIFA reported an attendance of 44,985 at the 46,000-seat stadium. "Please note that, during last night’s match in Guadalajara, several ticketed fans could be seen standing in concourses rather than staying in their assigned seats throughout the match," the authority added. A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE Mr Velosa is not alone. England fan Dale Mulhall was eyeing tickets between England and Ghana at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts - a mere 40km drive from where he lives. However, upon release, tickets sold out and England fans from the official supporters group were given a small percentage of the tickets, he said. With ticket prices still in the high hundreds, Mr Mulhall decided to look for alternatives. In his case, a game between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. "I’m a fan of neither country; however, I’m a huge Leeds United supporter and have been my whole life. "As Marcelo Bielsa is now the coach of Uruguay, I just wanted to see him and his team play,” said Mr Mulhall, who bought two tickets for US$220 each. “Luckily, I had a vacation credit with JetBlue that I had to use, so I only had to pay for the game tickets.” While Mr Mulhall said that he can afford to spend a bit more on tickets, he pointed out that it is about the principle that a match ticket at every other World Cup has cost significantly less. “I went to the World Cup in Germany in 2006 and paid €55 for a Category 2 seat to see Italy versus Ghana in Hanover. I get inflation is a factor, I’d say tickets should be priced between US$65 to US$300,” he said. “To me, that would be reasonable as it allows genuine fans the opportunity to afford to go rather than pricing most of them out.” When planning her trip to the World Cup, England fan Becky Arntsen decided against travelling to the US to catch the Three Lions. “We didn't really weigh it up, as a mixture of a trip to America seemed so much more money (hotels, transport to stadium, food, etc) than it would be to Mexico,” she told CNA. “We follow our club football around Europe, so it's hard money-wise to follow our country too to get enough loyalty points to get England supporter tickets.“ Ms Arntsen secured tickets for Tunisia versus Japan in Monterrey, Colombia versus Congo DR in Guadalajara and Colombia versus Uzbekistan in Mexico City for about US$500 in total. “We’d love to catch England, but it isn't everything to us. We just love football, we will make sure to watch their games in the fan zones or local bars in Mexico,” she said. “We looked at potentially keeping our options open for their game in Dallas, but it would probably double the cost of our trip - so we will keep that money and spend it on tacos instead.” "THE GREATEST SPORTING SPECTACLE" All three fans CNA spoke to said that they were excited for the tournament, even if they may not get to watch their teams live. “Living in the States and having a World Cup on my doorstep is incredible,” said Mr Mulhall. “If I didn’t get to a game during the whole tournament, I would have regretted it. I love the sport and for me, the World Cup is the greatest sporting spectacle there is.” Mr Velosa said that going to the Ivory Coast versus Curacao match will give his World Cup experience a “different kind of meaning”. “It allows me to pay attention to things beyond the sport itself, such as what football culture looks like for people from these countries. That perspective has given this whole experience a different meaning and made it even more interesting to me,” he said. “On top of that, I love the fact that people from all over the world will be attending these games. The passion feels different and unmatched compared to most sporting events." Experts said it is unlikely there would be drastic drops in ticket prices for most matches. "But I would not expect prices to fall dramatically for the most in-demand games unless something unusual happens." For Mr Velosa, Colombia’s games are probably out of the question. “At this point, prices for Colombia's games would have to drop dramatically. Even then, when transportation costs are included, I probably still wouldn't attend one of those games,” he said. “Maybe if other family members or friends were going and it became a bigger trip than just the game itself, I would consider it. But at this point, it feels like a big part of attending the World Cup is the overall World Cup experience, not just seeing your country play.” Prof Sheehan added: "If you're priced out, at this point, the best thing to do is likely just accept that you'll need to watch the game on television. "At the last moment, I do believe that ticket prices will drop a bit, but I don't think they'll drop that much because there will be a huge number of fans that will be in the market at that point." Mr Mulhall, however, got lucky. He snagged himself a Category 1 ticket - the best seat category - to the England versus Ghana match at a discount, paying US$490. "I figured that a Category 1 ticket is rare and just decided I'd kick myself if I couldn't get a decent seat to see the game," he said. "Not an ideal price, but when will England play a game down the road from me again?" Subscribe to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and catch all 104 matches live on mewatch. Visit mewatch.sg/fifaworldcup for more details.