Outside MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford (New Jersey, US), July 13, 2025. PAMELA SMITH/AP
For many football fans, attending a World Cup is the experience of a lifetime – one worth opening their wallets for. However, for those whose national teams will play their matches in the US, the 2026 edition – co-hosted with Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19 – is increasingly being seen as a "rip off."
The Free Lions, who assist members of the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) of England and Wales with travel, used this term on X on Thursday, April 16, to describe the situation. The reason: According to US outlet The Athletic, the price of a round-trip train ticket between Manhattan in New York City to New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, around 15 kilometers away, could surpass $100 (€85). The next day, the local transit authority confirmed a ticket price of $150, up from the usual $12.90 – a hike justified, among other reasons, by heightened security needs for the network.
The equivalent authority in Boston had already announced a similar measure days earlier, setting the train fare between downtown and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (25 kilometers apart) at $80. For spectators, the risk of being stuck in traffic means shuttle buses – specially arranged for the event – are no cheaper: $80 in New Jersey and $95 in Massachusetts.
