Sports
How Much Would It Cost to Attend the 2026 World Cup? Following Every US Match Could Be Over $100K
Watching a World Cup match in person is expensive enough. Trying to follow the tournament from city to city is another story entirely.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup spread across 11 host cities in the U.S., fans who hope to attend every match would need to budget for far more than tickets. Hotel stays, transportation and other travel expenses can quickly push the cost into the tens of thousands of dollars before the tournament is even over.
Ticket prices are also anything but fixed. FIFA is using dynamic pricing for many of the tickets, meaning costs can fluctuate based on demand. Similar to airline fares or concert tickets, prices can rise or fall depending on how many people are trying to buy seats.
On May 26, NBC News reported that the combined average cost of one ticket, along with a two-night stay in a hotel, ranged from just over $600 in Miami to more than $2,000 in the New York area.
The outlet found that Boston clocked in with the most expensive hotel average – nearly $1,000 for a hotel near the stadium. However, one ticket would cost around $633.
Meanwhile, the New York and New Jersey region carried the highest average ticket price. According to NBC’s analysis, a seat in one of the less expensive sections for a World Cup match at MetLife Stadium averaged about $1,399.
According to the network’s numbers, attending one match in each of the tournament’s 11 U.S. host cities would cost roughly $13,500 for tickets and hotels alone.
But what if a fan wanted to attend every World Cup match played in the United States?
The U.S. will host 78 matches during the tournament. Based on the average ticket and hotel costs reported by NBC, attending every game would cost approximately $97,000 – and that’s before factoring in airfare, rental cars, meals, local transportation, souvenirs or rising ticket prices for some of the later matches in the tournament.
In reality, the total bill could easily exceed six figures, making a full World Cup tour one of the most expensive sports trips imaginable.
