Key questions still linger over World Cup

A year out from the largest World Cup ever, there has been no announcement on general ticket sales, prices for most seats, location of a draw or security arrangements, as FIFA has mostly avoided disclosing details of an event set for 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

There is uncertainty about whether fans from some nations will be welcome — 11 of the venues are located in the US, where all matches from the quarterfinals onward will be played.

Security is a concern, too. At the last major soccer tournament in the US, the 2024 Copa America final at Miami Gardens, Florida, started 82 minutes late after spectators breached security gates.

"That was certainly a reminder and a wake-up call, if anybody needed it, that those types of things are going to be used in terms of the ultimate assessment of whether this World Cup is successful," said former US defender Alexi Lalas, now Fox's lead soccer analyst.

US President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 nations exempted athletes, coaches, staff and relatives, but did not mention fans. Vice-President JD Vance made what could be interpreted as a warning on May 6.

"Of course everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event. I know we'll have visitors, probably, from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game," he said. "But, when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise they'll have to talk to Secretary Noem," he added, speaking alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.

Back after 32 years

The 1994 World Cup sparked the launch of Major League Soccer with 12 teams in 1996, and $50 million in World Cup profits seeded the US Soccer Foundation, tasked with developing the sport's growth. MLS now has 30 teams, plays in 22 soccer specific stadiums and has club academies to grow the sport and improve talent.

Next year's tournament will include 104 games, up from the 64 hosted by the event since 1998, and the 11 US stadiums are all home to NFL franchises, which boast lucrative luxury suites and club seating. It will also be the first World Cup run by FIFA without a local organizing committee.

"The legacy initiative of 2026 is around how we ensure that soccer is everywhere in this country," US Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson said. "How do we ensure that every American can walk, ride their bike or take public transit to a safe place to play soccer? How do we make it to where every school in America has soccer accessible to their students? And how do we make it to wherever every American can truly see themselves in the game?"

Interest in soccer has vastly increased in the US, with England's Premier League averaging 510,000 viewers per round on NBC's networks last season, and the Champions League final drawing more than 2 million viewers in each of the past five years on CBS.However, CBS broadcasted just 26 of 189 Champions League matches on TV in 2024-25, with remainder appearing on its streaming platform.

MLS drew about 12.2 million fans last year, second to 14.7 million in 2023-24 for the Premier League's 20 teams, but MLS has largely disappeared from broadcast TV since initiating a 10-year contract with Apple TV Plus in 2023. Apple spokesman Sam Citron said the company does not release viewer figures.

In a fractured television landscape, different deals were negotiated by FIFA, UEFA, MLS, the NWSL, the USSF and the five major European leagues.

"You basically have over 2,800 game windows per season aired in the United States, and so that requires distribution, largely, on streaming platforms like Paramount Plus or ESPN Plus, but it's difficult for new fan adoption and it makes reach kind of challenging," said Gerry Cardinale, managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners, which holds controlling interests in AC Milan and Toulouse, and owns a non-controlling stake in Fenway Sports Group, parent company of Liverpool. "Kids today are getting weaned on Premier League and Serie A football, and when you watch that as a product, it's hard for MLS to compete."

Attendance record

The 1994 World Cup, a 24-nation tournament, drew a record 3.58 million fans for 52 matches. Ticket prices ranged from $25-$75 for most first round games and $180-$475 for the final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

FIFA, which has about 800 people working at an office in Coral Gables, Florida, says it will announce ticketing information in the third quarter, but wouldn't say whether prices will be fixed or variable.

Hospitality packages are available on FIFA's website through On Location. For the eight matches at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, including the final on July 19, prices range from $25,800 to $73,200 per person.

Variable ticket pricing

FIFA appears to be using variable pricing for this year's Club World Cup, being played until July 13 at 12 US stadiums, and some prices have been repeatedly slashed. Marriott Bonvoy, a US Soccer Federation partner, has been offering free tickets to some of its elite members.

Asked about Club World Cup ticket sales and team base camp arrangements, Manolo Zubiria, the World Cup's chief tournament officer, hung up four minutes and five questions into a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Brendan O'Connell, the publicist who arranged the interview, wrote in a subsequent email: "The guest was not prepared for those questions."

FIFA's media relations staff would not make FIFA president Gianni Infantino available to discuss the tournament.

Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, FIFA announced in May 1992 that the draw would take place at Las Vegas on Dec 18 or 19, 1993. FIFA has not revealed plans for this year's draw, but appears to be planning one for Las Vegas on Dec 5.

Regular ticket sales for the 94 World Cup began in February 1993 for the US soccer family, and general first- and second-round sales started the following June. Fans submitted lottery applications in October 1993 for games from the quarterfinals onward.

Training away from Cup cities

While ticketing plans for next year's tournament remain vague, FIFA is spreading its showpiece beyond the host cites, listing about 60 possible base camps for teams to use, paired with hotels. Some are fancy — The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia — and some more spartan — the Courtyard by Marriott Mesa at Wrigleyville West in Arizona.

Thousands of arrangements must be coordinated. Major League Baseball is drawing up its schedule to ensure that the four teams whose ballparks share parking lots with World Cup stadiums — in Arlington, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Philadelphia; and Seattle — won't play home games on the dates of tournament matches.

Boris Gartner, president and partner of Relevent Sports, a commercial partner for many soccer organizations, said the 2026 World Cup should be viewed as just another step in the sport's long-term US growth.

"If you have a clear understanding of the market and the audience, a clear understanding of the value that these properties bring to media companies, and you mix content with a commercial strategy, with the right media distribution strategy, this is something that will continue to grow over the next two decades," he said. "If more people are watching the NWSL, more people are going to be interested in soccer that could potentially end up watching a Bundesliga game or La Liga game."

Agencies via Xinhua