The International Football Federation (FIFA) has condemned the rise in the round-trip train ticket price, which reached 150 US dollars, for travel to MetLife Stadium from New York during the 2026 World Cup, considering that this price was set arbitrarily and would have a deterrent effect on fans.

The World Cup operations director, Heimo Schirgi, stated in a press release that setting arbitrarily high prices and demanding that FIFA bear the cost is unprecedented, noting that no organizing body of a global event, concert, or major sporting competition has ever faced such a request before.

He added that the pricing model adopted by the New Jersey public transport authority, 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 resort to alternative means of transport.

Train station. (Websites)

The journey between Penn Station and the stadium, a distance of approximately 30 kilometers, takes about half an hour.

For her part, the new governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, stated that FIFA, which is expected to generate revenues of up to 11 billion US dollars from the World Cup, should bear the costs of transporting its fans.

Schirgi responded by saying that FIFA is expected to generate around 11 billion dollars in revenue, not profit as the governor incorrectly claimed, stressing that the international body is a non profit organization and that World Cup revenues are reinvested in the development of football, particularly for young people and women, around the world.

In its statement, FIFA also published examples of train and metro ticket prices in other host cities, ranging from 1.25 to 15 dollars. However, some cities, such as Atlanta and Philadelphia, benefit from stadiums located close to the city center.