During the night of last Sunday, April 19, the New Jersey state public transportation corporation, NJ Transitconfirmed that the round-trip train ticket from manhattanthe most populated district of the city of New Yorkit will be almost twelve times more expensive than the usual rate for matches of the 2026 World Cup.
Given this situation, the prices of tickets for international commitments will not be the only thing that empties the pockets of the amateurs to soccer who attend World Cup matches in stadiums in the United States, since the cost of transport threatens to become the second biggest headache for fans.
Given the circumstances, in June and July 2026, traveling to MetLife Stadiuma multi-sports stadium located in New Jersey, from the New York City will have a higher price than usual, with figures that multiply the typical expense by train, so the fever The World Cup in North America is already beginning to be felt in the United States.
This is because New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrillexplained that his administration inherited an agreement in which the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) provides nothing for transportation, while eliminating parking at the stadium except for the premiumwhere FIFA charges almost US$200 (Q1 thousand 529) per place.
The cost of transportation is more of a concern
According to what was stated by the sports media conglomerate ESPNround-trip tickets from New York City to the World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will cost US$150 (Q1 thousand 146)and there will be some 40 thousand tickets for each World Cup match day.
That’s almost twelve times the usual rate of US$12.90 (Q98.60) for the journey of approximately 15 minutes and 14 kilometers from Penn Station in the borough of Manhattan, the main and more busy train station in New York and North America, to the sports venue located in the city of East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Likewise, as the parking lot at MetLife Stadium will not be available to the majority of fans, New Jersey authorities predict that more than 40,000 people will use public transportation for each game played in East Rutherford, so the total expense would be US$6 million for each World Cup match.
With capacity for more than 82,500 spectators, MetLife Stadium will host eight games of the 2026 World Cup, including the great end on Sunday, July 19, so the governor maintained that the surcharge was necessary to prevent state taxpayers from being left with a “debt for years” for having been the headquarters.
“It is not abuse, it is recovering costs”
The state of New Jersey’s position is that the surcharge was applied to prevent the financial burden falls permanently on taxpayers. For this reason, the governor maintained that the measure was necessary so that residents would not be left with the payment after the return of the World Cup to the United States for the first time in 30 years.
“It is not speculation with the price; we are trying to recover what it costs. It is not abuse“We are literally trying to recover our costs,” said NJ Transit President and CEO, Kris Kolluriwho defended the increase imposed by the governor of New Jersey and criticized FIFA for this situation in the United States.