Soccer has 'cult-like status,' and World Cup visitors are going to great lengths to afford their trips to the U.S.
Stuart Sharp, right, with his son, Eugene, catching a FIFA World Cup match in Boston.
Stuart Sharp and his 15-year-old son, Eugene, have dreamed of making the trip from Scotland to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. from the moment they attended their team's qualifying match last year. Sharp, 50, went to the World Cup in 1998 - the last time Scotland qualified - and saw this year's tournament as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his son.
But even after securing face-value tickets through an old friend, attending the Scotland vs. Morocco game in Boston was still a financial hurdle - and "much more than I have ever paid to watch a soccer game," Sharp said. He decided to sell all of his Aberdeen F.C. memorabilia that he'd collected over the years, raising about GBP1,000 (more than $1,300), which just about covered the flights for their five-night trip to the U.S. But they couldn't afford to bring the rest of the family with them, including Eugene's younger sister and brother, who stayed in Scotland with their mom.
"All in all I have spent roughly GBP2,700 (more than $3,500)," Sharp said. "That sort of money would finance our annual summer 14-day vacation flights and accommodation for five of us.
"I hadn't really thought about that until now," he added. "Gulp."
Lifelong soccer fans like Sharp aren't approaching the World Cup as a mere vacation. It's an opportunity to invest in an experience that may not come around again in the same way for decades, especially if their team doesn't typically qualify for the biggest sporting event in the world that only comes around once every four years.
Coming to the World Cup cost 'much more than I have ever paid to watch a soccer game...That sort of money would finance our annual summer 14-day vacation flights and accommodation for the five of us.' Stuart Sharp
Speaking with World Cup visitors who were sightseeing in New York's Times Square on a recent afternoon revealed that many have gone to great lengths to fund their trips, such as selling their cherished collectibles, packing groups into single motel rooms, staying outside the host cities and commuting long hours to see games, and traveling across the Atlantic - sometimes even without a ticket to any match - just to be part of the action.
This fan frenzy is driving a massive surge in spending. International World Cup visitors are expected to spend more than $5,000 a person, 1.7 times more than typical international travelers visiting the U.S., according to research from the U.S. Travel Association.
Airbnb $(ABNB)$ also said that the 2026 World Cup is on track to become the biggest hosting event in its history, with more guests booked to stay on the platform during the tournament than at any prior event. Since October 2025, over 100,000 homes have listed on Airbnb in host cities for the first time, the company reported.
And as these tourists have embraced American fast food and local culture in the host cities and their surrounding suburbs, many have gone viral on social media - most notably German tourist "Freddy" who posts on X as @FreddyLA7.
But as the visitors keep spending on gas, hotels and fast food while the prices for many goods and services are still high, it's led to some locals wondering just how these travelers are able to pay for their World Cup trips.
"I just wanna know ... How did soo many people traveling to the US to watch their team for the World Cup afford it?" asked one X user under the handle @xo_laurakay. Her post drew over 800 comments, with many people noting in the comments that they've spent the past few years saving and planning for this.
Soccer has a 'cult-like status'
It's important to note that the hardcore World Cup fans don't represent the average European traveler, according to Joseph Foudy, a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business. World Cup tourists tend to fall into the category of being more affluent or more committed to their team, and willing to spend out-of-character for a rare event like this.
Remember how fired up New Yorkers got for the Knicks making the NBA Finals? Well for Europeans, Foudy said, soccer has a "cult-like status" that "combines the popularity of several American sports." So the World Cup is a "once-in-a-lifetime or once-in-a-decade splurge," he said, putting travelers "in a different frame" than they would be for an ordinary trip.
Related: How to decide whether a major splurge - like spending thousands on Knicks or World Cup tickets - is worth it
Evan Briggs spent a year saving for a 10-day trip from Glasgow, Scotland, to Boston and New York with his family. His budgeting strategy - "as cheap as possible and the easiest way possible" - meant relying on Airbnbs, rental cars and packing into lively fan zones to watch games, rather than buying tickets to any actual match.
With stadium tickets priced upwards of $1,200, Briggs' family was entirely priced out of going to a live game. While missing the arena was disappointing, he said the surrounding environment has still made the trip worth it.
"You come all this way, and you want to watch the team live," he said, "but the atmosphere of things has been incredible in the fan zones."
'You want to watch the team live, but the atmosphere of things has been incredible in the fan zones.'Evan Briggs, from Scotland
Still, Briggs said his money did not feel like it went as far in the U.S. as it would back home in Scotland, pointing to $7 fries and $10 beers in Boston and New York. At this week's France vs. Iraq game in New Jersey, fries and beers were selling for an even steeper $20 each, fans told MarketWatch.
Foudy at NYU Stern said some European fans have been shocked by U.S. World Cup ticket prices, in part because FIFA is using dynamic pricing that looks more like the American model for marquee sporting events. In the past, he said, some of that extra spending may have gone to scalpers on the resale market. Now, more of it is being captured by FIFA itself.
Related: Prices for World Cup public transportation range from free to $150. Here's what's going on.
The result is often a much higher barrier to getting inside the stadium. But even some fans who were able to secure tickets are making tradeoffs elsewhere.
Kjell-Ivar Skogmo and his group of four traveled from Norway on a whim for a 10-day trip to the U.S. as soon as they were able to secure tickets through a secondary market.
Skogmo estimated major expenses like game tickets, airfare and lodging have already cost the group up to $5,000 - even before factoring in food and drinks.
To save money, the four shared one motel room outside of Manhattan in Sussex, N.J, for about $100 a night, and have planned similar accommodations as they travel to Providence, R.I. "We're driving to the transit station and then the bus into Manhattan," said Robert Selmer, who was traveling with Skogmo.
Skogmo said high U.S. prices were not a surprise, especially with the Norwegian krone weak against the dollar. Some unavoidable costs still stung, though, like the $98 roundtrip NJ Transit fare to the stadium. Still, Skogmo brushed off the prices, noting that this level of spending was "special for the World Cup."
That distinction is what separates these trips from ordinary vacations. The tradeoffs international travelers make to support their teams may not always be ideal, but their return on investment is measured in memories instead of dollars saved.
Fighting jet lag back in Scotland, Sharp said his first reflection was that "the whole trip was so worthwhile."
Briggs, when asked whether the cost was worth it, didn't hesitate. "Absolutely," he said. "It's been fantastic."
-Julian Torres
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2026 16:29 ET (20:29 GMT)
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