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Arlyn McAdorey \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS<\/p>\n
FIFA World Cup 2026 branding is displayed on city hall during a men\u2019s World Cup trophy tour event at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Canada \u2014 with Toronto and Vancouver as host cities \u2014 is expected to see an additional $3.8 billion in economic activity from the event.<\/p>\n
That said, it is estimated to cost taxpayers about $1 billion to host.<\/p>\n
The cost is not lost on local soccer fans, including those footing a big bill for a ticket.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ticket prices are very high \u2026 excessively high,\u201d says Damian Truong, referee development manager with the Manitoba Soccer Association.<\/p>\n
The high price tag aside, he and his father are attending a Group of 16 game in Vancouver in early July. They\u2019re among a handful of fortunate soccer fans who won an RBC-
\nsponsored lottery, giving them the right to purchase a ticket to any game hosted in Canada.<\/p>\n
Even though the tickets cost about $850 apiece, it\u2019s still worth it, he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s always been a dream of mine to go to a World Cup game,\u201d Truong says.<\/p>\n
Yet he sees the painful irony for many other unlucky footie fans in Canada. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a shame that when it\u2019s in my own country, it\u2019s so hard to get tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also ironic that what is often considered the \u201cgame of the people\u201d costs so much to watch live as the best soccer nations battle for supremacy on the pitch.<\/p>\n
FIFA even kicked it up a notch this time around. Tickets are by far the most expensive for a World Cup, says Jim McCarthy, a U.S.-based live event consultant and founder of Impresario Strategic Growth Service.<\/p>\n
The 2026 event is \u201ca big jump up from Qatar four years ago, which was the most expensive World Cup at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet McCarthy argues FIFA \u2014 in charge of ticket prices and sales \u2014 has taken a risk this time by expanding the event to 48 nations participating, up from 32 in previous events.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe result of that is that the first round will not be nearly as competitive as it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n
In turn, he is skeptical that every match, especially those involving smaller nations like Curacao and Cabo Verde, will see significant demand, given that tickets cost hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn North America, we have a very robust resale market,\u201d he says about websites like StubHub. \u201cWhat\u2019s interesting about that is it basically tells you what people think these tickets are worth.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCarthy notes group stage ticket prices have generally trended downward in recent weeks \u2014 though the least costly (Senegal v. Iraq in Toronto) remain about $440.<\/p>\n
By comparison, a soccer fan in the Greater Toronto Area could get season tickets for the Hamilton Forge FC, part of the Canadian Premier League, starting at about $464 at the low end.<\/p>\n
It may not be the World Cup but it\u2019s accessible for average families, says Marty von Wuthenau, president of public affairs at Earnscliffe and a former vice-president of communications for New York City FC.<\/p>\n
A long-time soccer fan who is not attending a 2026 World Cup game, he understands the frustration Canadian fans feel.<\/p>\n
FIFA has justified the high cost \u201cbecause of North America\u2019s entertainment economy,\u201d he adds. It likely recognized, based on Taylor Swift\u2019s lengthy Eras Tour, that people are willing to pay obscene sums to be entertained.<\/p>\n
Von Wuthenau adds he understands FIFA\u2019s thinking: the World Cup is its main revenue event, with 90 per cent of profits going toward supporting soccer globally.<\/p>\n
So fans paying big money to attend can take heart \u2014 they are helping the sport grow.<\/p>\n
Of course, if you are spending that much on an event, which includes travel, accommodation and food, it is also an investment worth protecting, says Matt Hands, vice-president of insurance at Ratehub.ca.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always tell people that, if you\u2019re thinking of relying on credit card coverage, do your research,\u201d he says, noting many credit cards provide travel and purchase insurance.<\/p>\n
The devil can lurk in the details. Don\u2019t assume just because you bought tickets, flights and hotels with your MasterCard, you\u2019ve got coverage if things go awry, he says.<\/p>\n
Another tip that is obvious, but still worth mentioning, is to steer clear of social media to purchase tickets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is where you find the greatest risk, because you can\u2019t verify who you\u2019re dealing with and if something bad happens, there\u2019s really no recourse,\u201d says Ryan Sydor, country Canada manager at Okta, which provides authentication technology for event ticket purchases.<\/p>\n
The temptation to use social media has likely never been higher in the wake of a new Ontario law prohibiting resales above a ticket\u2019s face value. <\/p>\n
Ticket-holders with legitimate reasons to sell face doing so at a loss through resale sites under that province\u2019s law after transaction fees.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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In turn, more sellers try social media to resell tickets for more than face value, but Sydor says it\u2019s still not worth the risk for buyers.<\/p>\n
Truong and his father, of course, have no intention of selling their tickets. What\u2019s more, they do not even have to worry about accommodation costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily, I have a grandma who lives in Vancouver, and we\u2019re going to stay with her, because even the hotel prices shot up so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joel Schlesinger is a Winnipeg-based freelance journalist<\/p>\n
joelschles@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The world\u2019s soccer fans will converge on Toronto and Vancouver in a few days for the start of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":718697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-718696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/718697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}