FIFA pricing out World Cup fans before a ball is kicked

Reports this week say fans heading to World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium will be charged $150 (£111) for a 30‑minute train journey from Manhattan. Eighteen miles. One stop short of daylight robbery.

Under normal circumstances, the Penn Station to New Jersey journey costs $12.90 return. For the tournament, that price has been multiplied by more than eleven, with no concessions. Children, pensioners, families: everyone pays the same. No transfers. No refunds. Just pay up.

Only days ago, fans were being warned of a $100 fare. Then New Jersey Transit quietly nudged it higher. Welcome to the World Cup: open your wallet.

Prefer the bus? That isn’t much cheaper at $80 (£59). Also non‑refundable. Still non‑transferable. Another move in the direction of extortion.

Parking has been squeezed just as hard. Off‑site options are eye‑watering, most notably the nearby American Dream Mall, where parking is priced at $225 (£166) per car before you even begin the final leg of the journey. Walking is prohibited, alternatives are limited and what remains is not really a choice at all.

The Football Supporters’ Association is doing an admirable job just keeping up with the spiralling numbers, and says fans are being ‘gouged’. It certainly feels that way.

Tickets are already priced well above what many supporters are used to, or can afford. Accommodation is brutal. Now even a basic right, like getting to the stadium, is being treated like a premium experience.

Neither is this a one‑off. The warning signs were there when train fares to the Gillette Stadium from the centre of Boston were hiked to $80, with coach tickets climbing to $95. Another short hop. Another reach into fans’ pockets.

Contrast that with Russia and Qatar, where tournament travel was free. The US committed to the same. Somewhere between signing the host agreement and announcing the fare structure, that promise has been broken, apparently unchecked by FIFA and Gianni Infantino.

New Jersey’s governor says FIFA should pick up the tab. FIFA now says travel should be offered ‘at cost’. While the whataboutery continues, fans are left to foot the bill.

MetLife Stadium, stripped of its commercial name for the tournament – will stage eight matches, including an England group game and the final. It should be a showcase. Instead, it increasingly feels like a cash grab.

When you host the World Cup, you are supposed to welcome the world. This time around it is being sold back to fans piece by piece, with Infantino and FIFA watching on.