New York the first World Cup host city in history to charge for fan event access

Martin Macdonald

• 12 Jan 2026 07:45 CST
• 4 min read

Nieuws

For the first time in World Cup history, travelling fans will be forced to pay to enter fan zones in a host city.

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico and will be the biggest ever edition of the tournament, with 48 nations set to compete in North America.

When the charges for entering fanzones was announced it was naturally met with an overwhelmingly negative response, considering this World Cup is already set to be the most expensive, by far, in history for supporters due to exorbitant ticket prices and inflated accommodation prices.

It has now been confirmed that New York/New Jersey is the first host location to implement these new charges. Supporters wanting to enter organised fan events will be forced to pay at least $10 and although that may not seem like a lot, it is yet another charge for something that was previously free at every World Cup since 2006.

Not every city will charge however, as while New York/New Jersey is the first to confirm the prices, host locations Kansas City, Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Toronto have all said that fanzones will be free to enter.

Nine host city have not confirmed their plans.

“Discussions around the FIFA Fan Festival reflect the diversity of each Host City, taking into account factors such as geographic footprint, existing infrastructure, community priorities and operational realities,” the FIFA spokesperson said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “As a result, approaches and formats may vary from city to city.”

The FIFA-sanctioned fanzones are usually in large public areas such as parks, plazas or beaches. There are reportedly tensions between FIFA and the host cities as the cities themselves have been tasked with paying for and organising these fan fests and some are naturally looking to make that money back.

It has been speculated that the running of one fan fest, per day, could cost as much as $1 million.

New York/New Jersey, though, says charges will be implemented due to high attendance control rather than for profit.

“We’re not looking to put undue financial burden on anyone — that’s never been the case. We also know that each city is very different geographically, demographically and so on," FIFA executive Amy Hopfinger said in the summer of 2025.

New York/New Jersey fan fests

The locations of the fan fests in New York/New Jersey are: Liberty Park in Jersey City, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens and Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

New York/New Jersey is hosting eight World Cup matches and the main fanzone at Liberty Park is set to be open for all 39 days of the tournament.

“These spaces are essential to the World Cup experience, creating accessible and affordable places for people to come together and experience the biggest games in one of the world’s most iconic venues,” host committee CEO Alex Lasry said in a statement.

Lasry said that any profit gained will be put back into the hosting of the fanzones.

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