World Cup 2026 is almost here — fans planning to follow their team face a jaw-dropping price shock

For fans across the globe of the 48 countries participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer the price of chasing a dream has never been higher.

In 1994, fans across the globe painted their faces, packed cheap motels and traveled across the United States with the hope of a nation and a paper ticket folded into their back pocket. The price of fandom was a lot more affordable back then. Now, 32 years later, the 2026 World Cup is shaping up quite differently. 

This World Cup is expensive. We’re talking first class airfare, luxury suites, and a secondary-market sticker shock that costs more than some people pay for used cars. 

One company wanted to find out how much it would cost two fans from each nation to follow their team from the group stage all the way to the Final. We’re talking multi-city stops, potentially across three different countries, including flights, hotels, match tickets, and concessions. 

And the total cost will shock you. 

According to the analysis from AceOdds.com, it would cost an average of $62,000 for two fans to follow their team across all 48 participating countries. 

For comparison, that’s roughly the annual salary of a full-time worker in the United States according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s a blunt reminder that the modern World Cup has become less about a six-week adventure, and more of a financial endurance test. 

And half of that price tag comes from tickets alone. 

On average, fans would spend nearly $31,000 on World Cup tickets alone, half of the entire trip budget. The estimated cost for two tickets to the Final at MetLife Stadium is half of that at $15,500 on the secondary market. 

The study also had some interesting takeaways. For example, fans from Iraq would face the most expensive journey following their team, spending approximately $74,000 for two people from Baghdad to Boston to Philadelphia to Toronto to New York and back home. The flights alone are over $24,000. 

Meanwhile, if you’re a Panama supporter your path is nearly $20,000 less than Iraq. Two fans of the Central American country would spend on average $56,000 to travel to Toronto to New York and back. 

Ironically, fans here in the United States would still have to pay a year’s salary as well. Following the United States men’s national soccer team from the West Coast to New York would cost two fans around $63,000. Slightly more than the average. Tickets are the bulk of that budget with a price tag of $34,000. While accommodations in Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York push past $16,000. 

The frustrating part for fans is that the World Cup has always been about the people. The fans across the world flock to the host country for a month-long carnival where cultures collide and strangers become family underneath shared scarves and flags. 

Yet in recent cycles it’s moved towards corporate sponsors, suites, and business executives. Ordinary supporters are being pushed toward the edges of the experience so FIFA can cozy up to billion-dollar business. 

Ticket prices on the secondary market have dropped this week, but half-empty stadiums across the continent are still expected come kickoff. Not because soccer supporters don’t want to see their team live and in person, but because they might not be willing to empty their savings accounts, survive airport layovers from hell, or sleep four people in a two twin bed hotel room. 

Even President Donald Trump thinks the prices are too expensive, and his administration is part of it. “I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” he told the New York Post about the price of tickets for USA’s opening match against Paraguay in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium.

A FIFA World Cup 2026 soccer ball rests in front of a goal inside SoFi stadium without a full grass field. AFP via Getty Images

Over 33% of the 48 nations participating in the World Cup won’t make it past the group stage. More than half won’t make it to the quarterfinals, and even fewer have a legitimate chance of making it to the Final at the Meadowlands. 

But for one fan base, whether it’s Argentina, Spain, France, England or Brazil, the dream of following your team from their opening match to lifting the World Cup trophy apparently will cost you $62,000.

And that’s too steep a price tag for soccer loyalty.

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