World Cup 2026: FIFA denounces rising transportation prices to the stadium from New York

FIFA denounced, on Friday, the increase in the price of a round-trip train ticket—reaching 150 US dollars—to get to MetLife Stadium from New York during the 2026 World Cup, saying the fare was set “arbitrarily” and would have a “deterrent effect” on fans.

In a statement, the World Cup operations director, Heimo Schirrgy, said that “setting high prices in an arbitrary manner and demanding that FIFA bear the costs is unprecedented”, adding that “any organizer of a global event, or a concert, or a major sports event has never faced such a demand before.”

He added that the “pricing model” adopted by the public transport authority in New Jersey—which increased the train ticket price tenfold during the tournament—“will have a deterrent effect”, explaining that “this price increase will inevitably push fans to use alternative modes of transportation.”

The trip between Penn Station and the stadium, at a distance of roughly 30 kilometres, takes about half an hour.

For her part, New Jersey’s new governor, Micky Shirell, said that FIFA—which is expected to generate revenues of up to 11 billion dollars from the World Cup—“should bear the transportation costs for its fans”.

Schirrgy responded, saying, “FIFA is expected to generate around 11 billion dollars in revenue, not in profits, as the governor is wrongly claiming,” stressing that the international body is a “non-profit organization,” and that the World Cup’s revenues are “reinvested in developing football, particularly for the benefit of youth and women, around the world.”

In its statement, FIFA also published a “sample” of the prices of train or subway tickets in other host cities, ranging from 1.25 to 15 dollars. However, some cities—such as Atlanta and Philadelphia—have stadiums close to the city centre.