World Cup travel prices threaten fans’ access in US

Michael McCready, 57, has attended four World Cups across Chicago, South Africa, Russia and Qatar. He says the games have always brought people together—but this year’s U.S. tournament comes with starting prices of $4,500 for the final and up to $73,000 on the

When Michael McCready thinks about the World Cup, he doesn’t picture spreadsheets or seat charts. He remembers what it feels like when strangers become neighbors—when a stadium turns into a shared language.

McCready is 57, and he has attended four World Cups around the world. His first was in 1994, after he had just moved to Chicago, where the city was one of the host cities. Because it was “essentially in my backyard. ” he got his first look at what happens when people who love football gather from everywhere.

“It was essentially in my backyard,” he said of 1994. “Everyone supported their team with so much passion.”

There’s a vivid detail he still carries: he remembers watching Germany play in a friendly game, one of the early-stage games—because it was Germany, “one of the best teams in the world.”

Then life changed the rhythm of his trips. Once he got married and had children, his World Cup adventures paused.

In 2010, the journey resumed, this time to South Africa. McCready flew from Chicago to Atlanta and then took a 17-hour flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg. He said he did everything he could to learn about the culture he was immersed in. visiting townships. a savanna. and a forest reserve. and going to Port Elizabeth.

He also walked where Nelson Mandela had walked and met people from so many countries who spoke so many languages.

A semi-final match later gave him a ticket to the final between Spain and the Netherlands. In the stadiums, he said, everyone was blowing into vuvuzelas—filling the venues with a loud, bee-like hum he “had never heard before and haven’t heard since.”

In 2018, he went to Russia. He flew to Helsinki and then took the train to St. Petersburg—“the same train that Vladimir Lenin took when he came and took over St. Petersburg.” A history buff, he walked down the same streets where the Russian Revolution took place and went into the Winter Palace.

He also explored what he called the “deepest subway system in the world,” ate out in restaurants where hardly any English was spoken, and walked around St. Petersburg before seeing two semi-final matches.

Then came Qatar in 2022, where McCready described a different kind of tournament stagecraft. He said stadiums were built specifically for the World Cup, positioning the country as a sports destination. He also pointed to what was available and what wasn’t: there wasn’t any alcohol available. air conditioning was blowing up from sidewalks. and there were markets with spices. rugs. hunting falcons. and even a camel for sale.

This year, the World Cup is back in the United States. McCready says the price tag is what threatens the very thing he’s always loved about the event.

He described current costs for the final as “absurd.” The starting price for the final this year is $4,500, he said, and tickets for the final are currently on sale in the secondary market for up to $73,000.

That’s only the ticket, he stressed. In his view, the trip can quickly become a financial leap: a domestic flight for $500 (and he said it’s “triple that if international”), $400 a night in a hotel for however many nights you stay, plus any food—“it’s a trip that costs thousands.”

McCready said he thinks the World Cup this year will have a disappointing turnout. He doesn’t argue the World Cup isn’t worth seeing—he argues access is getting squeezed.

“If you do manage to get a ticket and can afford the experience,” he said, “here are my top tips.”

First, he urged people to give themselves plenty of time to get where they need to go, arguing that “you cannot be in a hurry on game days.”

Second, he recommended visiting a fan zone. Every World Cup has fan zones, he said, and you can show up without tickets and watch the game on a big screen. If you have a ticket to only one game, he said, you can watch all the other games in these zones.

He described this as “arguably more convenient” because you can see everything happening on the big screen without navigating a stadium.

Third, he advised families who can afford it to bring their kids. “Children know and love the teams and players,” he said, adding that bringing them along helps “we’re getting the next generation of soccer fans excited about the sport and keeping the love of the game alive.”

Fourth, he pushed travelers toward public transportation. Since he isn’t a local. he said he wouldn’t know where to park if he rented a car. and he warned that with tens of thousands of people parking near the stadium at the same time. it’s stressful. He also said Uber and taxi prices will be “through the roof” and hard to coordinate. When using public transportation, he said, plan your route “just as you would if you were driving somewhere new.”.

Finally, he encouraged buyers to pick up World Cup mementos. World Cups only come around every four years, and he suggested getting a T-shirt sold at the event—because later, spotting someone wearing the same shirt becomes a conversation starter about being there together.

For McCready, the central question has shifted from where to sit to who gets to afford the journey. He has seen what the World Cup can do when people from different places and backgrounds meet around a game. Now he’s worried that high prices will keep that meeting from happening—at least for many of the people who would most want to be part of it.

World Cup ticket prices Michael McCready fan zones travel costs secondary market stadiums public transportation family travel sports economics