World Cup dream collides with rising travel costs

A promise to take his twin boys to a World Cup began with a 2010 trip to South Africa and matching Tim Cahill jerseys. Now, with the 2026 tournament in the US and tickets priced beyond reach, he’s redirecting the family’s soccer trip to South America instead—v

In 2010, he flew to South Africa for the World Cup—two weeks after his marriage ended, and when his twin boys were only 3.

Before he left, he bought matching Tim Cahill jerseys: one for himself and one for each boy. Cahill. the Australian striker. was “Australia’s best player. ” the scorer behind the goals that made Aussies “briefly care about soccer every four years.” The family put the jerseys on. took a photo. and he crouched down to promise his sons that when they turned 18. he’d take them to a World Cup of their own.

He didn’t know then what adulthood would cost. The photo has stayed with him—his Facebook cover for 16 years. Over time, he’d bring it up with the boys “every so often,” half promise and half running joke.

As the twins grew older, soccer found its way into their lives more deeply. They watched big European teams when they toured Australia—Tottenham, Manchester United, and Real Madrid—and they sat through games at 4 a.m. because that’s when football happened “on the other side of the world.”

In 2022, when Argentina won at a similarly unreasonable hour, he told them the next tournament would be one they could see in person.

When the US was announced as host for the 2026 World Cup, the timing looked perfect. His wife is Texan, and the family is in the United States all the time anyway. Their university year in Australia would finish in November, and their plans could line up so the boys would be 18 by December.

He entered the ticket ballot—and got selected.

Then he tried to buy the tickets and learned what “selected” meant. It was before the schedule had been announced. with “no games or opponents listed.” He would commit his money to a category—1. 2. or 3—and only find out later what he’d actually bought. He described it as a gamble so expensive it didn’t feel like a holiday anymore. so he let the ballot lapse and told the boys they’d wait for the draw.

The draw did come out. Australia was placed in the same group as the US. Of every fixture in the tournament, the one he wanted most was also the one everyone else wanted too.

But once he priced it, the dream fell apart.

Tickets for the match were “absurd.” Host-city hotels with reviews warning people not to stay there were still running past $700 a night. He calculated three flights from Australia, plus additional flights around the US after the tournament schedule. Add tickets. food. and transport. and the total stopped looking like a once-in-a-lifetime experience and started looking like “a deposit on a house.”.

He sat his sons down and told them the promise was still theirs to keep. but they needed to see what it cost first. They were no longer 3, and they could do the math. He said they nodded and agreed it was “way too much money.” Even though he was the one carrying the original promise. they took the news “far better” than he did.

The family isn’t walking away from World Cup soccer entirely. A few weeks later, he floated a different plan.

Their Australian university year finishes in November. In December, they’ll go to South America for a soccer trip they can afford. They’ll watch local league games in Chile and Argentina. where he says tickets cost “a fraction” of World Cup prices. And they’ll travel to Uruguay for the Estadio Centenario. where the very first World Cup final was played in 1930 and where it is now home to the Museo de Futbol.

He put it plainly: he couldn’t get his sons to the newest World Cup, so he’s taking them to the oldest one instead.

The jerseys won’t match the moment the way they used to. The Tim Cahill jerseys don’t fit anymore; they’ve “been taller than me for years.” His still fits, and the original photo is still up. He said he’ll change it later—when they have a better one.

World Cup 2026 travel costs ticket ballot Australia United States Tim Cahill jerseys Estadio Centenario Museo de Futbol soccer tourism