$43,000 Front-Row Seats: How Soccer Fans Are Being Priced Out of World Cup

First-round match ticket: $280 to $43,000. Stadium daily parking pass: $150 to $600. Public transportation to venues: $100 or more in some cities. In-person 2026 FIFA World Cup experience: Priceless, or somewhere between a mortgage payment and a year or two of college, depending on who you ask. Americans and international soccer fans alike suffered serious sticker shock over the cost of attending the biggest sporting event on the globe this summer, and that’s before calculating airfare and accommodations. This year’s event features 48 teams and 104 matches in 16 host cities across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. So far, FIFA’s dynamic pricing system for more than 1 million tickets has even the die-hard fanatics questioning whether this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is worth taking on months—or years—of debt....