Lol. Lmao, even. Fuck them for even raising rates like that in the first place for an event nobody wanted to come to from an organization that shouldnt even have the ability to exist anymore. Fuck FIFA
It’s also that Americans really aren’t the biggest soccer fans and our current political administration makes people from countries where soccer is popular not want to come here.
I can't understand the motive behind this administration allowing that to be said. How does hamstringing their own world class event help them further their goals in any way?
FIFA, the billionaires who own the hotels, the host cities, the networks; everyone is going to lose on this event.
Could it be that Trump already received his bribes and doesn't stand to make any money on the event, so he just doesn't give a fuck? Could it be that simple?
Look my grandmother had dementia and Alzheimer's and I'm just going to tell you it's a miracle he's made it this far. I think he's on the I've got mine fuck you 🚂 right now.
The butterfly revolution calls for the dissolution of america as a nation into a series of corporate city states, and using that model on the rest of the world. Nothing will make sense if you anaylize it using familiar viewpoints like events, public relations, or quarterly earnings.
The future is robitically inflicted violence and worldwide dystopic serfdom and pain, and the billionaires hiding in bunkers while they cull the worlds population in order to manage global warming.
Threatening randomized extreme violence at the big circus is just a warmup for the next decade and even century. The golden age of humanity is over.
There's no 'allowing it to be said'. They populated the agency with thugs and then put absolute morons in charge with the mandate to go after anyone they could and to ignore the actual law. It's 'set it and forget it', there's no active management of what's being done at any agency. Like a lot of despots the way it works with Trump is pre-emptive compliance.
These people aren't told how to act, they listen to what he says and then try to guess, moment to moment.
When the World Cup was hosted in the Middle East and Russia, at least you had the general sense that the host state wasn't going to persecute the visitors. Not so much for america.
The warnings were about adhering to several cultural aspects of the Islamic state like attire, public drinking, LGBTQ representation etc. and of-course public criticism of the state or the ruling family. The situation in the US isn’t the same, it’s worse.
There was no threat to life in Qatar. There’s no random gun violence. The actions that get you incarcerated were specific as opposed how random they seem to be in the US currently.
This. As long as you abided by the rules in Qatar you were safe. The US has no rules because law enforcement is perversely incentivised and there is zero accountability. Your murder will at best result in suspension with pay until they're moved or quietly reinstated.
There are multiple accounts of people who were unlawfully detained and deported, including several people who have been executed by ICE for doing nothing wrong. If this was spread out over a decade or two you might have a point. All of this has happened in the last year. Many people have been deported to locations they have no affiliation with, effectively stranded.
This was one I'd read last year and remember quite clearly. I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of people in similar situations. Also, includes accounts of one other person detained because they had overstayed their previous visa by 3 days - even though at the time of the arrest she was there on a new valid visa.
They said play with fire and one will eventually get burnt. With over 50 million gun owners in the USA playing with their guns, some random persons are going to get shot.
Qatar prosecuted a dutch woman for adultery after she were sexually assaulted (source). The US can be bad, but that doesn't mean the warnings about Qatar weren't warranted.
The US can do whatever it wants because they don't have no global opposition to dispute it's order, right they just got bored with being nice and good, decided: "fuck it, I'll dink 15 bottles of beer, shot myself with a shotgun on the foot and blame everyone else, since own everyone else too, they do as I say".
One would think you'd educate yourself on the issues tourists with visas are having before making a comment of "lol, what?" as if the other user was making an outrageous comment.
Multiple tourists with visas have been detained and put in ICE detention centers; some for weeks.
Those are just a few examples of a very well-known issue and that you are completely uninformed about that says a lot about how clueless you are about current events...
If you think that stops soccer fans I have a bridge to sell you
Morocco killed multiple Senegal fans and detained hundreds of them after they won AFCON lmao, and Spain and Portugal are hosting with them
Edit: My bad, said journalist who suspiciously had a heart attack during the Qatar World Cup wasn’t gay, he was simply detained for wearing a gay pride shirt then died of a heart attack.
As not a trump fan, weird that didn’t come because of Covid when Covid didn’t start until the last year of his term. I very much believe people are worried about being arrested by ICE while on a tourist visa.
I was in Arizona for work a few weeks ago and the day before I got on the flight a friend told me about their coworker who got turned away from JFK after they went through their socials. You hear shit like this all the time now, whether it's true or not, the damage is done. I was bricking it when we landed but we sailed through no issue.
It's pretty bad, hundreds of maple bucks to go see the games, expensive hotels and stuff.
I was planning on staying with family in Vancouver, taking the sky train into town and going to the outdoor viewing for the Canada games but have no interest in actually watching the games for $800 a ticket.
Yeah it’s crazy I work in LA and we have one coworker who’s going but he’s a huge soccer fan. The tickets really set him back but obviously if you live here at least the costs lower. As far as I see SoFi is still priced high and we’re like a month out from the first games.
Yeah its similar to the Olympics greed buzz we had in Vancouver in 2010 except nobody that I know of cares about soccer as opposed to the winter Olympics. Its all talk about cashing in but few locals care about the actual event. Some do but not at that scale.
I think they also added more teams to make this the biggest one and there's too many cities. They tried to keep the groups in the same general area but people don't realize that when the world cup is in France, France isn't big. Especially not compared to all of north America. You are asking people to fly all over this giant continent and book overly priced hotels for extended periods of time. In Europe you hop a train and go to the next city.
I would definitely be interested in going to a World Cup game for a reasonable rate but if they’re asking for $500 for Morocco-Australia or whatever fuck that.
Anecdotal, but I’ve only seen people around me care about soccer when it’s women playing. Maybe Americans mostly see soccer as a women’s sport, and so the men’s version isn’t popular?
Who cares about hotel prices, ticket prices, or even ICE when the world is running out of fuel?? I understand a lot of attendees are rich, but for the majority of regular ppl trying to come to the games - are we not living in the same world economy rn?? The last thing I’d be wasting my money on is flying around to watch soccer, let alone IN the country that caused this mess in the first place.
Yeah I’m so fucking tired of the greed in our society. It’s rampant in everything to the point life just isn’t enjoyable anymore. Is anything better than 10-15 years ago
Being on vacation in Japan was refreshing. Because a bottle of water from a vending machine was 200 yen, whether it was in a train station, back alley or at a major tourist attraction. Same goes for convenience store prices, whether in the middle of an office zone or at the foothills of Mt. Fuji. It was so nice feeling that you weren’t being gouged at every turn.
It’s sealed, but if it’s NYC tap water that’s probably as good or better than Poland Springs. If I need water, I don’t really care. NYC tap water is above average for municipal water.
Honestly I’ve been filling up at buc-cees just as much as Sam’s at the same price. And then when I went to our tree farm, gas was .50 cheaper than even Sam’s.
No, they have a cultural resistance against price increases. They're traditionally cautious about spending, which is related to their decades of stagflation and poor wage growth.
Wages have started rising in recent years though, which has improved consumer sentiment toward price hikes
Did you see any salarymen throwing themselves off a building? If there’s one even more capitalism-deluded society than the US, it’d be them. You do not want to whitewash their society, trust me.
I'm convince the Millennials will be the last generation that lived through the last vestige of affordability in America in the late 90s and early 2000s.
I remember when college tuition in 2005/2006 wasn't as bad as it was today. Beer was cheaper back then and the micro brewery revolution was just starting out. You could go out the movies and hit up taco bell without it hitting the wallet too much at all.
>I'm convince the Millennials will be the last generation that lived through the last vestige of affordability in America in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Even on ostensibly a serious sub, we have this false consensus garbage.
Why do folks insist on assuming that their own personal financial situation is the median or normal?
I dunno, maybe as a black immigrant to the US I'm just sick and tired of the mentality that everyone is owed a top 1% lifestyle without actually working for it. Some of you guys have never actually had the Global South experience, and it really shows in your politics and theories of governance.
Even the countries you worship - Japan, I've seen on the thread and of course the Nordic utopias - the latter are more capitalist than the US is (and that's the other thing - you guys conflate rent-seeking with capitalism when the two concepts are antithetical) while the former is literally falling off a demographic cliff because everyone is worked to death. You guys would be miserable in.
It depends on what you're measuring, but if you look at e.g. the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, you'll see that a few Nordic countries place higher than the US
You make good points and much of what you said is true and valuable perspective. However, I’d still push back slightly because biggest you’re treating complaints about affordability as entitlement rather than structural change. Those are not the same thing.
-Housing costs relative to income have risen dramatically in many metro areas.
-Healthcare, childcare, and education costs have outpaced wages for decades.
-Asset inflation has rewarded people who already owned homes/stocks while making entry harder for younger generations.
-Stable middle class milestones now often require dual incomes where one income once sufficed.
Those aren’t just people wanting “top 1% lifestyles without working for it.” They’re measurable shifts.
Cheap tickets for small and local jam bands. They've filled a massive void for live music as tickets to the bigger shows have exploded. Maybe the one thing lol
I work at a hotel that has 300 rooms. If there is a large event in town and there are 3,000 people that want the 300 rooms, why should I not raise my price? Why would I leave money on the table?
Greed? Really? This is just a t rational response to expected market conditions(that happened to be wrong). Like, if there was suddenly extra demand for your job, would it be greedy to take an offer from another company that was willing to pay you more?
Prices are set by the interaction of supply and demand. The entire point of a business is to make money. Why on earth wouldn't they charge more if they could? Why on earth wouldn't you take a better paying job if you could? Why would businesses sell products for less than people are willing to pay? The entire idea is just silly and you're literally saying this in the economics sub.
People desperately want to go, they’ve just been priced out at every corner.
In theory America is a great place for such a tournament given how many people who live there will have come from the participating countries. It just butts up against the ultra capitalist hellhole that demands extortionate prices for any event that is mildly popular.
FIFA bribed Trump with this and its "Peace Prize" to get the corruption charges dropped against them. I hope everyone in the US boycotts the World Cup because of FIFA and the world boycotts it because of Trump.
Giving Trump that mindless medal for being 'the biggest pedophile' really upset a lot of people and then to also see all of the ICE raids locking up international tourists for trivial and frivolous misdemeanors really has made this World Cup 'the most shit event' in soccer's history!
They debased the FIFA branding by cowering to a 'pedophile' and then to host it in a gestapo run country was only ever going to end poorly.
People would love coming to watch but the threat and intimidation of being deported is keeping them away. This is a major sporting event, global even and it was an opportunity to showcase America. It is being boycotted, that’s the point. And it’s completely normal to raise hotel rates when demand is there. I don’t see anything to laugh about at all.
Fuck supporting anything FIFA. Sorry sports rule their small brains. Focus on making a better world not enriching a corrupt entertainment conglomerate. Glad they aren't coming.
Also canadians aren't going to usa anymore and tourism is tanking because of it. Who wants their personal phones looked at by boarder patrols? Or risk getting taken by ICE?
While agree I think the interesting poibt is that something which is usually a globsl celebration is being boycotted by a lot of people.
Now infairness hosting an event in one of the most exoensive plscrs in the world with the strongedt currency is going to be a barrier for many but I also think many Europeans have interest in going to USA.
It has lost its shine from Trump one to Biden to Trump two.
Good. FIFA has always been greedy but they really jumped the shark on this World Cup. I hope they fail spectacularly. I was optimistic when the US was awarded the tournament, but have zero interest in supporting it beyond patronizing a local bar to watch games.
> FIFA has always been greedy but they really jumped the shark on this World Cup
Fifa has zero control over hotel prices and such, though. It's just that americans are now noticing their market seems so absolutely fucked for anyone who's not american that they'll just refuse to participate.
Ticket prices is a whole other story though. That's 100% on them.
> "We have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates"
Absolute bullshit that just means "americans pay a lot for events so we'll just ask for what we want". They're basically also blaming the US entertainment market.
You mean jumped the gun. Jumping the shark is when a tv show does something that would never happen in real life. It’s a reference to when Fonzie jumped his water skis over a shark and the audience didn’t believe that could ever happen. Too unrealistic.
Crazy that you know exactly what jumping the shark means and are commenting on an article about how prices for this world cup are unrealistic to the point that people aren't going and still couldn't put 2+2 together
So, you literally are supporting exactly how sponsors planed. Watch our commercials and spend money while doing it. Leave the hotel rooms and game seats available AND the bar scene full and lively for the tourists.
FIFA is a non-profit and has 0 (nothing) to do with how American companies set their prices
the USA promised (in writing) in 2018 that they would make all transport free to world cup games, now they raised the prices from $12 to $150 to scam international visitors
FIFA has no control over this, the USA is tanking it's own chance to host THE international sporting event
yes they did, just like the US is doing, peas in a pod
did Korea and Japan? did Brazil? did France? did Germany? did South Africa? are Mexico and Canada exploiting anyone?
its all the countries you expect to behave poorly are the ones that behave poorly. At least Russia and Qatar didn't tell any lies, or have a leader that needed a special medal
Because the people in charge will pocket a shit ton of money at the expense of the people. It's the American way! And really the FIFA way as well. Two shit peas in a shit pod.
Jesus Christ.... That's exactly how the capitalistic (and communistic and everything) world has worked forever. People at the top make grand promises for all sorts of shit to benefit the people and then take as much money for themselves and don't deliver what's promied.
No doubt we'll see lots of folks from the USA blowing up online with comments about how "All the poor countries don't have good sports", because they don't make enormous profits by charging huge prices, and that the fact that US sports leagues have high revenue proves that the US has the best sports, and tourists are "cheapskates lol" and so on.
It's wild to see over the last 10 years how much the pre-2020 US mass media kind of smoothed over some of these cultural differences, where some folks in the US genuinely do seem to see high prices, high corporate profits and super high pay for a few under unstable conditions as a sign of a healthy economy.
Maybe these people are just a loud minority who are not really thinking about it, I don't know.
Compared to other countries, we barely pay any attention to soccer anyway. This wasn't brought here by the fans. It was brought here for the big money then politics and the economy buggered it up.
If I had anymore fucks to give, it wouldn't be for soccer.
In a way, you would expect a massive sporting event that the locals don’t care about to result in huge demand for hotels. If locals were really into it a good fraction of the tickets would be sold locally and just a small fraction would be visitors that need hotels. If locals don’t go, more visitors are coming and needing hotels.
Honestly, I would have made every effort to attend if the whole thing wasn't such a shitshow. Fifa has killed the world cup.
Ill never forget 2018, it was an event. The bars were packed with fans. I even brought my Switch to the bars to play Fifa (world cup edition) with friends and strangers. This was in America, people who didn't even normally follow soccer were out for the experience. It even provided a boost to our fairly new MLS team (MNUFC).
2022...less so. A lot of people tuned out due to human rights abuses. It was less 'cool'.
I think both attendance and viewership will be down this year. Between the obscene ticket/hotel prices and Trump support/involvement, a lot of people will just tune out/not go. They dug their own grave.
Soccer's been consistently and intensely growing in popularity in the US over the last decade mostly due to people being exposed to it on video-based social media (which really took off in a big way in 2016) and being able to easily stream it live. By some metrics its popularity is now ahead of baseball. It was a huge curveball for sports broadcasting, no one in the industry saw it coming, and it's now one of the sharpest new-traditional TV divides and sharpest generational divides (about 66% of all Americans who watch soccer are under 30, it trends young while baseball trends old).
2014 was still pretty close to the broadcast/cable TV era, 2018 was much further into the streaming era. TikTok launched in 2016. Roku TV integration and Fire Sticks, which greatly expanded the popularity of streaming on TVs, launched at the end of 2014.
The World Cup isn’t only for locals. It’s to boost tourism too. Most fans travel to the host country during the tournament. Some countries have hosted that didn’t have a large footballing culture like Japan and South Korea and more recently Qatar.
Not really. Reread their post. They think the World Cup was brought to the US for US fans. People travel to the host countries to follow their country. Do you think the Qatar World Cup was for the Qataris?
Each conference gets the chance to host and only CONCACAF and AFCON (Morocco) bid. UEFA and AFC couldn’t host and CONMEBOL wanted to wait for the next one for the Uruguay centennial bid. OFC just isn’t a realistic option other than New Zealand.
Please reread their post. They are saying the lack of popularity isn’t what drove it here, it’s the money that comes from tourism associated with people coming into see the games. Now people aren’t coming to America due to the political situation and therefore there isn’t the money they were projecting.
This is what happens at great tournaments. It’s a blast! The footage is from the march of Dutch fans to the semifinal of the Euros2024 against England.
Conversely the NHL did a full game in the UK, I think it was a season opener and the idea was to promote it outside of the US. But it was a bit of a non event in the end, about the only people interested were existing fans. Some sports just aren't that big in other countries, simple as that.
Except in Miami and Atlanta. Only two WC cities in North America that have actually filled their entire hotel FIFA blocks. Guadalajara isn’t even at 20% Philly seems to be second worst but I can’t find hard data on that.
Miami and Atlanta are hotspots even without the world cup. I imagine the opening match in la at sofi stadium is also the most expensive city to visit matches in.
Due to incomes, practically 90% of the world can't afford LA prices, esp for a vacation.
Just checked, even nosebleeds in LA are going for 1000-1500, and lower levels are easily 5-20k. The matches in Atlanta are starting arounder 400 to 8kish for the lowest level. That's not even taking lodging into account which will easily be 2x the price of atl and the other cities. A week in LA could fund 2 weeks in other cities.
Atlanta is chronically underrated for being an incredible place simply because the city limits are so small people forget how huge the metro is. It’s certainly the most affordable city hosting games simply because it’s Delta’s hub and there are so many hotel rooms. Atlanta hotels haven’t been at 100% occupancy since Katrina.
It’s my go to city for major concerts. I saw the eras tour there. Despite the traffic (which is always heavy!) I had zero issues with hotel, booking, driving in, finding places to eat without reservations, etc.
There's just always been a huge surplus of occupancy around atlanta due to Delta and the airport. A huge chunk of intl flights land in atl before final departures. Atlanta also hosted the 1996 Olympics.
There's numerous other mega corpos like Coca cola, ups, home depot, etc headquartered in atl as well. There's a myriad of factors that made atlantas airport the busiest in the world for decades now.
Hotel prices in Miami are barely above what they are for this time a year. Some of these hotels thought they would get $500-600 a night, but you can now get that hotel for $250
This must have just changed. My friend got tickets last week for a game at sofi for $350. He said there were some cheaper but you had to buy 6. I'm kind of curious what happened in the past week.
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed it’s that the seats won’t be empty on TV.
The “fans” might all look suspiciously like mid-level American corporate employees, or they may be wearing a strange amount of camo print clothing and face masks, but those seats will be filled.
With more teams also come fewer games in the group stage that look exciting. If you look at, say, KC's list of games, it's not as if one will expect a lot of competitive, high energy games or anything.
We host one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the US here and had to move it back a month due to hotel availability for the world cup. Hotel "availability" for the world cup messed up the entire youth soccer tournament schedule this year nationwide. Even the preparation for the grass field maintenance had to be shifted.
That’s kind of logical, don’t you think? Literally all top competitions in the world have to change game schedules due to the preparation for the WC in Summer.
Extremely damaging of them, and inconsiderate! I suspect the Youth tournements are in a school vacation? If so, that postponement means fewer children can participate.
Why would anyone from outside the US want to come to this? Certainly the folks from "non-white" countries should be especially concerned. The regime hasn't done anything to make people feel more secure, as they double down on their "right" to detain, arrest, and deport anyone they like, including US citizens.
In their shoes, no way would I risk coming to the US. Kudos to legacy media outlet Forbes for not bringing up the climate of fear issue as a factor. It's important to have an independent media that voluntarily licks the boots of the regime. /s
People went to Qatar last time around, so the way people think about travel for soccer isn't exactly congruent with personal safety concerns. The price gouging has just reached some sort of elastic limit, and perhaps people are more consistently aware of the state of things in the United States rather than elsewhere. Also, there's always the chance that western world consumer confidence is deteriorating to a degree that enough people aren't willing to compete in the market for world cup trips.
The Qatar and Russian World Cups were different because they were being used as sports washing so there was greater confidence that tourists weren’t going to get randomly arrested.
Honestly the whole ICE thing isn’t the main concern for most fans, it’s the pricing and logistics. Most fans have been priced out and the teams play in different cities so you’d have to book flights just to follow your country’s group stage matches. Compared to past tournaments held in smaller countries where you could realistically stay in one area and just do day trips.
I mean the President of Fifa awards Trump the “FIFA Peace Prize” with huge media around promoting peace around the world and making the middle east more peaceful. That's a level of spectacle and sports washing neither Qatar nor Russia had. It'd be like if Fifa awarded Putin a medal of peace before he invaded Ukraine.
yeah but Russia and Qatar built stadiums, transport links, lowered prices of trains and hotels to make the events run smoothly and enjoyable for visitors
the US isn't sports washing because it's actively tanking it's own reputation using this tournament, they promised in 2018 that all transport would be free but now they are just intent on scamming visitors
Dang, have a ground of over 100 coming to World Cup games. Staying a few weeks to see the US.
Coming from Germany, UK, France, Spain, Argentina, Brazil mostly. They don’t seem concerned. Will be staying away from any protests. Just here to watch football games and go to Disney World, LA, NYC, Chicago, SF, and Grand Canyon/mountains.
Enjoy the visit. You’re getting downvoted by chronically online, (rightfully) frustrated people who want the World Cup to be a disaster.
Be safe, you’ll have a good time, and genuinely do keep a low profile when entering and leaving the country. Crazy times with a crazy gov, but the trip will be fantastic.
ETA: The level of US-centric delusion regarding the upcoming World Cup is surreal. FIFA is a criminal organization. The crimes host nations have committed against local populations in the name of WC preparedness are abundant, and the list of past hosts has no shortage of fascists and war criminals. Let’s stop pretending like every World Cup will be poorly attended as a result.
I am American. Well US/Australian/Malta citizenship. But a Pacific Islander(mum is Aboriginal). So darker skin tone.
No issues with US immigration, traveled 20 times outside of US and back so far this year.
But will definitely keep an eye on the crew as they come in. We may get a bit rowdy when we drink. Have Airbnb’s setup and a good list of local food/supplies to pickup.
Have a simple list of things to go see and do. And everyone wants to see a US grocery store for some reason. One of the huge ones. Plus want to check out Buc-ee’s.
Not true. Traditionally plenty of regular supporters have traveled for the World Cup. This one with its crazy dynamic pricing and travel complexity has just pushed it too far.
You'd be surprised. The prices there were apparently fairer and more importantly a lot more transparent than in the US.
One of the big red flags everyone in Europe and Asia is warning about is how absolutely fucked hotel prices are, how you get hit with extra fees on top of more extra fees, how room bookings can even be preordered yet when you arrive someone else simply paid more and got the room, etc. The internet is full of hypercapitalist horror stories like that.
To add tot that the ticket prices are not only way too high for the quality of stadiums and seats, there are also extreme measures taken by FIFA this time around to get every possible $ through fees. Their ticket exchange site has no set prices, sellers can demand what they want and then FIFA puts a %fee on that. lol
Seats that are relatively dogshit (extremely far away) and at a rather unimportant group stage game between small football nations were a couple hundreds originally (which was already way too expensive) but at FIFA's own ticket exchange they're going into the thousands of $$? That's just wildly ripping off people.
Add the political climate to that and that the USA are simply not that beloved anymore (and that's not only a Trump thing) and bang, you got a shit world cup host.
I've heard from quite a lot of people that they would have been happier if only Canada and Mexico had hosted (even though the latter is absolutely deep in the cartel wars shits right now and definitely not perfectly safe to travel either).
And still, come the time of the event the masses will be there, some paid actors too, the stadiums will be full(ish) and the US more than its two world cup partners will bring some over the top show as they're wont to do and the media will paint it however FIFA wants them to.
As a football fan I truly hope the stadiums aren't filled, that the atmosphere sucks, that it's all a big shitshow that everyone will make fun of forever.
But it won't be, because it's all going to be paid off to look pretty and fun and the game is long gone.
This is anecdotal, but I know blue eyed, blond haired Swedes and Swiss who aren’t coming because of 1) the political climate, and 2) FIFA being awful. Tickets are so expensive tho and it seems like they’re selling?
I think it's fair to say many people can't afford to go especially with prices being what they are. I think it's also fair to say that there is a significant portion of football fans that are not American and that traveling to the US at the moment us a risky proposition especially for non whites. And there's enough foreign people who are equally concerned about the two.
Also, are any tourists getting arrested by ICE? I’m seriously asking because I’ve seen no news about that so don’t understand where fear mongering would come into play. People getting deported are trying to live here, not stay for a few weeks with a return ticket booked.
Only clicked a few of these and one was related to expired visa and the other was someone who moved to the US. That isn’t traveling to the US for a few weeks with a return ticket like I mentioned.
I'm in the US and wonder why anyone domestically would want to go either. It's just not a sport here. RSL games are kinda fun if it's a free ticket. Caught a Barca game in Barcelona and it was so boring. I was so excited for the hooligan shit show but they actually watch the soccer and don't party. Do they put the whistles away and let the dudes play in the world cup? The constant diving and fake injuries are frankly embarrassing. The women's game is so much more watchable
If you’re not aware, it’s dangerous for any foreigner (and plenty of American citizens) to be in the US during the Trump admin. Canadians spending weeks in detention camps, German tourists being detained for weeks. It’s been wild.
Yeah, traveling to Mexico/Canada on a US visa can be difficult. Many visa’s do not allow such travel.
And with high backlog within immigration courts. Can see a delay for USCIs Agent or Immigratikn Judge to hear the case.
Also, DHS wants cases to go before an Immigration Judge or USCIS Agent to render a verdict. So even if one wants to voluntarily leave, maybe prevented to do so, until case is heard and verdict delivered.
Always been US law over such issues. Traveling to US on visa, does not mean one can go to Mexico or Canada. Just DHS/ICE enforcing laws…
Just some facts. Would rather they self deport and leave US in that situation. But so many have “I will leave” and never do. So holding before court/case and enforcing US laws.
Yeah, that has always been a tricky situation. With DHS holding individuals without full travel details. Detainments have happened in 80s-90s-2000s-2010s also.
Law changed in 1996. About visa’s, traveling between US and Mexico/Canada. And notifying Border Patrol of where visa applicant will be staying.
We know why people aren’t coming. Forbes knows why. Despite them not mentioning it at all in this article. Why would anyone wish to come here at all?
As an American, I’d much rather go overseas to see a World Cup or the Olympics, or heck, at least go to Canada, to at least support countries who more embody the values of “togetherness” these types of world sporting events purport to put forth. (Though let’s be honest, FIFA itself only cares about the one thing and one thing only.)
But seriously, when there’s the threat of ICE at every venue, the difficulty of obtaining a visa, and the possibility of harassment at even the airport, why would anyone bother to come? Not to mention the cost of the tickets and travel themselves.
Plus an unnecessary war driving up gas and flight prices astronomically. India issued today from Modi wfh recommendations such as covid to conserve fuel.
As much as we are feeling it at the pump, it’s a lot worse overseas. We need a real peace agreement and the straight open up. Or more likely to happen, a magical Time Machine and go back to this time 2024….
Most people I know who decided not to go did so because of the genocide. They didn't want to take part in sports washing while that was going on. Not many people from Europe will care too much about ICE. Maybe in some other places they do, but generally that is seen as a thing that locals need to worry about rather than tourists
And not to mention the boycotts. Lots of us abroad have been america for a while for attacking and insulting and blackmailing us. Even if it was easy and cheap and safe and convenient to travel there, many wouldnt anyway.
>the right wing trumpers have destroyed our long term credibility
Putin has undermined the longterm strength of the biggest problem he faced, a united and coherent West. Now everyone is trying to make their own alternatives to what was once dependable US services which again breaks cohesion.
Yea, the soccer bros had no problem doing to qatar and Russia, so miss me with that. I don't deny that is a small part of it, but it seems much more likely that it's the ticket prices and other economic factors. Unless you actually think Russia and Qatar are safer than the US (which you get likely do because Reddit)
This right here. True soccer bros give no fucks about location politics. I think it is much more about expenses. Everything is more expensive now, FIFA has jacked up the ticket prices into the stratosphere, and the games are so far apart physically that each move is like a whole other trip, not just a train ride in Europe or something.
It’s simple math. A World Cup will attract thousands of people, but also deter thousands who would have come otherwise but won’t because they don’t care about football and it’s too crowded and most of all too expensive.
Gotta set prices accordingly to find a balance. Gestapo like immigration handling obviously doesn’t help, neither that the World Cup is also held in two countries that treat guests more friendly.
The issue wasn't even with the hotel pricing. It was FIFA. They priced the games way too high. In most WC games, you'll have a ton of foreigners coming over to support their nations, who become a captive audience for the nearby hotels.
This time FIFA got too greedy, making it unaffordable for anyone but those with deep corporate pockets. It's too expensive for even upper middle class Americans. How would someone from South America afford to attend? They can't. So a ton of attendees will be the type who flies in private and leaves the same day, who won't need to stay at any hotels.
This is the only reason and I don't understand why anyone else would have other explanations. There would be widespread pushback if FIFA suggested ticket prices this high in Europe. They saw an opportunity to have this orchestrated in the USA.
No one cares about Trump and ICE, that's just wild exaggeration.
Remember all the "protests" and disgust at the world cup being held in South Africa, then in Saudi Arabia. Even Brazil had a lot of controversy with the stadium constructions. US has a lot of issues and I think people shouldn't come to influence our gdp but that's not what's going to happen
World cup visitors also don't pay the same prices as concert goers. It's a different proposition to pay 300% of the usual rate if you stay for a night. If you come for the world cup and stay a few weeks to see multiple games 300% room rates are not sustainable for your average fan.
At least for my brother, it's the Gestapo like immigration. He'd have gotten complimentary tickets had he wanted. But he'd have to basically provide information about 3 generations of the family, 15k usd bond per person and then still fear the immigration. He said it's not worth it.
He came to Europe (I live there) for the Euros last year and wanted to go to the US leg of the world cup because we have a lot of family in the US, so wanted to kill two birds with one stone. But then the stories from immigration started coming and as a brown person with a weak passport, he changed his mind.
Seriously. How and why do people keep paying these prices for things? It’s just crazy to me.
But also, yeah. I wouldn’t go to Russia (from the US) to watch World Cup games. Probably feels like that to a lot of foreigners right now.
Why would anyone come to the US to watch the games? So you can be harassed or detained by ice indefinitely, as they racially profile you, ignore your passport and deny you any due process.
I would avoid the US at all costs, at least until Trump is gone.
2024 told you that a third of Americans are racist and fascist, a third of Americans are fighting that other third like hell, and a third are too young, too old, or too poor to participate in the system.
The third still fighting like hell needs all the help the can get. Which includes NOT going to the World Cup, but also not writing them off if they manage to get back in office. Because it CAN happen where you are too.
And they don't vote because they're working 70 hours a week to get by, because they don't get paid time off work to vote, and because they've been so steadily fucked by both parties that 'a plague on BOTH their houses' more or less sums up their political positions.
You aren't owed their vote, and you haven't earned it. Republicans are far worse than Democrats, but Democrats aren't exactly killing it. And while Reddit leftists don't want to hear it, their brand of wannabe radical socialized democracy is about as popular with the average American as a root canal.
So no: a third of Americans don't care about actual data, they just want someone brown to hate. But they know the word "racism" is bad, so instead of, you know...not being racist, they preface their racist bullshit with "I'm not racist, but..." type commentary.
Biden left the border wide open. 10 million people came in unvetted. Democrats pretended it was not a problem for 3.5 years and told the country not to believe their lying eyes.
Then all of a sudden 6 months before the 2024 election, Biden tried to get serious about the border because someone managing his campaign finally realized it was actually an issue voters were upset about.
So was Biden racist in 2024 when he tried to close the border ? Was Obama racist when he deported illegals?
Are citizens of any country racist because they want secure borders?
If your answer to any of the above is yes, then do better.
Somehow Obama got elected. Kamala was vice president. You have Ilhan Omar. AOC. Corey Booker. 26% of congress are people of color. 28% in the House of Representatives. 16% of senators.
But somehow Americans are all racist. Lmao. Turn off MSNBC and Reddit.
So tired of you MAGA morons. ICE has in fact detained tourists and over 50+ people have died in their custody since Trump has been back in office.
ICE has arrested and detained American citizens they shown them proof of their citizenship and they just claim it is fake.
Tourism is already down like 80%+ under Trump, but I anticipate these games will be played in stadiums that are over 50% under capacity.
All these cities and states spent billions in preparation for the World Cup and like everything else Trump touches, it will be a catastrophic failure and cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars.
Take that, corporate America! People are afraid and/or repulsed by the idea of traveling to the USA for the World Cup or anything else. We sure showed us!
I call this " corporate leprosy " big money gets involved and charge big money thinking the suckers will pay absolutely anything in turn ruining the core product that people avoid add trumps festering hand of corruption and rascism in what is the biggest global sports event is it any wonder. Like they say everything trump touches turns to shit
I am privileged enough (thankfully) to attend the world cup. I love soccer. My son loves soccer. We have traveled for games, I have attended a couple of world cups in the past. For the longest time, I was looking forward to doing a game in each host country with my son but I am now absolutely turned off by the scam fest that I am choosing to sit this one out
Fuck Fifa!
FIFA charges 700 a ticket and makes the lottery process confusing and uncoordinated, then gets surprised when seats aren’t selling out. Hotels are charging 300 a night and are surprised when people don’t want to stay there, sounds like they tried to gouge the market for this event like we do everything in America and now they’re realizing there’s actually a limit
The hotel I work for tried selling 4-night minimum fully prepaid at $1400/night. I think we sold 3. Got completely scrapped last month and rates are dropping by the day.
Lol I work for a hotel near one of the stadiums and $300/night would be a steal. Our World Cup prices are in the $750-$1,500/ night range with minimum length of stay requirements.
It's ridiculous that the world Cup is in North America. The world old cup should have been only in Mexico. Canadians and Americans don't even Watch the game. Also $7000 to see a game? Wtf
Under normal circumstances, having the event here is a no brainer as travelling to USA was always easy. But we all know what happened and greed took over and has made the event toxic. I still have 2 stubs from 1994 where I paid $30 and $40 for 2 games. I applied for tickets, I am glad I did not get selected after seeing what happened with prices and bullshit seat locations. Screw Fifa.
One of the big red flags everyone in Europe and Asia is warning about is how absolutely fucked hotel prices are, how you get hit with extra fees on top of more extra fees, how room bookings can even be preordered yet when you arrive someone else simply paid more and got the room, etc. The internet is full of hypercapitalist horror stories like that.
To add tot that the ticket prices are not only way too high for the quality of stadiums and seats, there are also extreme measures taken by FIFA this time around to get every possible $ through fees. Their ticket exchange site has no set prices, sellers can demand what they want and then FIFA puts a %fee on that. lol
Seats that are relatively dogshit (extremely far away) and at a rather unimportant group stage game between small football nations were a couple hundreds originally (which was already way too expensive) but at FIFA's own ticket exchange they're going into the thousands of $$? That's just wildly ripping off people.
Add the political climate to that and that the USA are simply not that beloved anymore (and that's not only a Trump thing) and bang, you got a shit world cup host.
I've heard from quite a lot of people that they would have been happier if only Canada and Mexico had hosted (even though the latter is absolutely deep in the cartel wars shits right now and definitely not perfectly safe to travel either).
And still, come the time of the event the masses will be there, some paid actors too, the stadiums will be full(ish) and the US more than its two world cup partners will bring some over the top show as they're wont to do and the media will paint it however FIFA wants them to.
As a football fan I truly hope the stadiums aren't filled, that the atmosphere sucks, that it's all a big shitshow that everyone will make fun of forever.
But it won't be, because it's all going to be paid off to look pretty and fun and the game is long gone.
They should look to their federal government and the incredibly hostile environment they’ve created for people from a whole lot of countries that love football…
I mean, the second amendment was literally intended for what’s taking place now, but I guess everyone’s not quite there yet.
The only reason I’m still sane is because I’m not American. I wouldn’t have been able to handle living there under Donald, watching all the corruption etc and felt compelled to fight it any way that presented itself. (I don’t mean violence here, I mean volunteering, yelling at people on the streets, so sting anything I could to charities trying to make up for what he’s destroyed, and so on)
It pisses me off to no end that international football is managed by some shady private company in Switzerland. The last 3 world cups were held in places that have basically no teams, no history of serious football (sorry Mexico) nor any business hosting a world event that is meant to attract people from all around the world. Russia and Qatar speak for themselves but I’d argue the strict visa requirements, distance from places where the majority of football fans live plus the massive housing costs are major reasons why the WC shouldn’t have been hosted in North America. At least not after the last 2 “outreach” cups.
How do we live in a world where the money and authority from all of football are monopolized by a handful of shameless ghouls?? Why don’t we have a real non profit, or an international body to run these tournaments?? The billions made yearly from football could have financed any number of things, instead it’s going into the pockets of people who have likely never even played it.
They have cutthroat prices for anyone wanting to buy the streaming rights and ICE waiting to jump you if you travel there and world cup organisers just bring a general asshole to everyone. Then they wonder why there are fewer people wanting to watch it.
My idiot city commissioners spent so much money we don't have to "update the city's infrastructure" to accommodate the games. Roads torn up everywhere you look, streets blocked off completely to traffic for months and months (which is killing businesses), major water and plumbing line replacements. When this administration's shenanigans started popping off, I knew the mythical world cup windfall was over before it even started. Apparently my city's leaders don't pay attention to literally anything and draw logical conclusions based on that information.
Anyway, back to taking four detours for no reason just to get to my kid's school.
I am here in Atlanta, a host city, and I have been told by people in the hotel and convention industry that many people are not coming. They have been told by many of those who have canceled previous reservations that between the tickets being overpriced, increased air fare due to the Iran War, hatred of Trump, and fear of guns in the U.S., that many foreign visitors are not coming.
Foreign tourism continues to increase in Orlando. Plenty of Muslim families and those speaking Spanish and Portuguese feel safe at the theme parks.
Those cancelling are likely making excuses for the real reason they aren’t going is because their friends aren’t jealous. Attending used to be a status symbol but now socially they have to fall in line and hate who their friends hate.
Two of Osama Bin Landen’s sons went to Disneyland while their father was openly against the US, democracy, and capitalism.
Not just hotels but game tickets are between $500 to $1000+ a seat depending on the game. Who the hell is paying that kind of money for one game and to travel here.
Americans know that they'll just be nickel and dimed every inch of the way through the World Cup and everyone else in the world knows to stay far away from the USA.
And as I've said before, it's just soccer. No one cares here.
If it matters this seems fake. Forbes has had paid for content in the past, also just seems sort of a repeat of like six other headlines. But most of all a topic people don't care about. I guess you would be able to find someone who claims to care, but I am figuring there are more relevant stories out there right now. Mainly why is has so expensive and why has the Epstein files not been fully released?
I do not understand why they decided to host in the US I am sorry but Football (american) is king here most middle age and older do not care about soccer I live in Kansas City and believe me we do not give a damn. we care more about college football and basketball over soccer lol.
Same goes vice versa. Who here (and most of the world) cares about American Football? Would be kinda weird to hold the Super Bowl in Paris, Berlin or London. Yet someone thought it was a good idea to give the US another World Cup.
This is economics thread. lol. Why is anyone surprised that FIFA has one goal? It’s not like this org was born from some “higher order.” It’s all about perpetuating and increasing value. We shouldn’t be surprised by this.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 11 hours ago
Lol. Lmao, even. Fuck them for even raising rates like that in the first place for an event nobody wanted to come to from an organization that shouldnt even have the ability to exist anymore. Fuck FIFA
harbison215 | 10 hours ago
It’s also that Americans really aren’t the biggest soccer fans and our current political administration makes people from countries where soccer is popular not want to come here.
7ddlysuns | 10 hours ago
What moron would come here? ICE is probably going to kill a few of them for fun
Quick_Assumption_351 | 9 hours ago
or have your trophy stolen by the president
pickle_pickled | 8 hours ago
He already took the first one
SanaSpitOnMe | 4 hours ago
like putin took that superbowl ring.
BicFleetwood | 7 hours ago
ICE literally said they’d be coming after people at the cup.
Maxamillion-X72 | 5 hours ago
I can't understand the motive behind this administration allowing that to be said. How does hamstringing their own world class event help them further their goals in any way?
FIFA, the billionaires who own the hotels, the host cities, the networks; everyone is going to lose on this event.
Could it be that Trump already received his bribes and doesn't stand to make any money on the event, so he just doesn't give a fuck? Could it be that simple?
KarmaticArmageddon | 4 hours ago
>How does hamstringing their own world class event help them further their goals in any way?
You're looking for reason from people who are unimaginably stupid.
PizzaWhole9323 | 4 hours ago
Look my grandmother had dementia and Alzheimer's and I'm just going to tell you it's a miracle he's made it this far. I think he's on the I've got mine fuck you 🚂 right now.
SryInternet101 | 4 hours ago
Every time you have a question like this, ask yourself "How does this benefit Russia?" You'll have your answer.
devAcc123 | 3 hours ago
The man can’t string two sentences together, he’s not some mastermind. Something far more nefarious for sure
Unique_Adeptness4413 | 3 hours ago
The butterfly revolution calls for the dissolution of america as a nation into a series of corporate city states, and using that model on the rest of the world. Nothing will make sense if you anaylize it using familiar viewpoints like events, public relations, or quarterly earnings.
The future is robitically inflicted violence and worldwide dystopic serfdom and pain, and the billionaires hiding in bunkers while they cull the worlds population in order to manage global warming.
Threatening randomized extreme violence at the big circus is just a warmup for the next decade and even century. The golden age of humanity is over.
Impressive-Cable7708 | 4 hours ago
It makes sense when you remember he's a Russian agent sent to destroy our country.
kelfupanda | 3 hours ago
You know the chinese refer to trump as the country maker?
Wind_Yer_Neck_In | 2 hours ago
There's no 'allowing it to be said'. They populated the agency with thugs and then put absolute morons in charge with the mandate to go after anyone they could and to ignore the actual law. It's 'set it and forget it', there's no active management of what's being done at any agency. Like a lot of despots the way it works with Trump is pre-emptive compliance.
These people aren't told how to act, they listen to what he says and then try to guess, moment to moment.
Gloomy-Recipe9213 | 9 hours ago
When the World Cup was hosted in the Middle East and Russia, at least you had the general sense that the host state wasn't going to persecute the visitors. Not so much for america.
Aliensinmypants | 9 hours ago
There were multiple warnings put out about qatar world cup, what to do, how to act, and who shouldn't be attending.
It's not good that the US is like that, but don't revise history
VoxNihili-13 | 6 hours ago
The warnings were about adhering to several cultural aspects of the Islamic state like attire, public drinking, LGBTQ representation etc. and of-course public criticism of the state or the ruling family. The situation in the US isn’t the same, it’s worse.
There was no threat to life in Qatar. There’s no random gun violence. The actions that get you incarcerated were specific as opposed how random they seem to be in the US currently.
AI_moderated_failure | 5 hours ago
This. As long as you abided by the rules in Qatar you were safe. The US has no rules because law enforcement is perversely incentivised and there is zero accountability. Your murder will at best result in suspension with pay until they're moved or quietly reinstated.
hates_stupid_people | 4 hours ago
Unless most ICE activity is halted for the duration, it's likely that some very rich people from other countries will be injured by them.
TheJooooooo | 2 hours ago
As long as you abide by the rules of the USA you’re safe too lmfao
AI_moderated_failure | 2 hours ago
There are multiple accounts of people who were unlawfully detained and deported, including several people who have been executed by ICE for doing nothing wrong. If this was spread out over a decade or two you might have a point. All of this has happened in the last year. Many people have been deported to locations they have no affiliation with, effectively stranded.
VoxNihili-13 | an hour ago
Here. Read.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney
This was one I'd read last year and remember quite clearly. I'm sure there are hundreds if not thousands of people in similar situations. Also, includes accounts of one other person detained because they had overstayed their previous visa by 3 days - even though at the time of the arrest she was there on a new valid visa.
ThreeButtonBob | 48 minutes ago
Just change your skincolor if it's not white. You have to follow the local rules! /s
TheJooooooo | 9 minutes ago
Weird how all the minorities keep wanting to come here despite how bad it supposedly is for them
dessmond | 5 hours ago
I get your point but Russia and Qatar are not exactly exemplary on the aspect of accountability.
korben2600 | 4 hours ago
Perhaps it says more about the US right now than it does Russia or Qatar. We're more unsafe for guests than literal dictatorships.
TheJooooooo | 2 hours ago
We’re literally not, it’s just you’re a Redditor who doesn’t go outside lmao
wongl888 | 5 hours ago
They said play with fire and one will eventually get burnt. With over 50 million gun owners in the USA playing with their guns, some random persons are going to get shot.
MusicOfTheSphere | 7 hours ago
> Middle East
>at least you had the general sense that the host state wasn't going to persecute the visitors
Not for women.
456M | 7 hours ago
You claiming Qatar persecuted female World Cup visitors?
TreatAffectionate453 | 6 hours ago
Qatar prosecuted a dutch woman for adultery after she were sexually assaulted (source). The US can be bad, but that doesn't mean the warnings about Qatar weren't warranted.
Angelstandingby | 2 hours ago
This had nothing to do with the world cup event.
Didn't even happen in the same decade.
456M | 5 hours ago
So the answer is no.
kelfupanda | 3 hours ago
I mean, the answer is yes, because they did.
456M | 3 hours ago
Maybe reread my question before replying.
MarcusDA | an hour ago
Yeah there are some wild takes in here. The U.S. is in a bad, bad spot right now, but acting like everything was cool in Qatar is goofy as shit.
wongl888 | 5 hours ago
Americans never miss or give up an opportunity!
40_Thousand_Hammers | 8 hours ago
The US can do whatever it wants because they don't have no global opposition to dispute it's order, right they just got bored with being nice and good, decided: "fuck it, I'll dink 15 bottles of beer, shot myself with a shotgun on the foot and blame everyone else, since own everyone else too, they do as I say".
JoeDubayew | 8 hours ago
I can only assume based on your struggle with the english language that when describing alcohol consumption you are speaking autobiographically
40_Thousand_Hammers | 7 hours ago
Just not English first speaker :/
ThePensiveE | 7 hours ago
Beer first, English second.
Hey dude, do you happen to be the Secretary of Defense?
40_Thousand_Hammers | 6 hours ago
Nope but I do have a feeling if I would, I'd do a better job.
pbbrowniesmmm | 5 hours ago
Peak Reddit comment
BlazerBeav | 9 hours ago
LOL, what? Has there been one reported case of a tourist with a visa having any issues?
playahate | 8 hours ago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
harbison215 | 8 hours ago
Oof lol. That person is probably going to skunk away with the tail between their legs now
Orolol | 8 hours ago
Yes.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
choove | 7 hours ago
One would think you'd educate yourself on the issues tourists with visas are having before making a comment of "lol, what?" as if the other user was making an outrageous comment.
Multiple tourists with visas have been detained and put in ICE detention centers; some for weeks.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-detention-of-european-and-canadian-tourists-creates-fear-over-traveling-to-america
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney
https://www.thetravel.com/british-tourist-detained-by-us-despite-having-valid-visa-warns-travelers-to-avoid-america/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqj4w91vz7jo
Those are just a few examples of a very well-known issue and that you are completely uninformed about that says a lot about how clueless you are about current events...
qpv | 8 hours ago
Seriously? Google it
Carrie_8638 | 7 hours ago
There are plenty of morons who either have never heard of it or think that it won’t happen to them
TheJooooooo | 8 hours ago
If you think that stops soccer fans I have a bridge to sell you
Morocco killed multiple Senegal fans and detained hundreds of them after they won AFCON lmao, and Spain and Portugal are hosting with them
Edit: My bad, said journalist who suspiciously had a heart attack during the Qatar World Cup wasn’t gay, he was simply detained for wearing a gay pride shirt then died of a heart attack.
DifficultyCommon5303 | 4 hours ago
nice state of affairs when the US needs to find its peers with regards to safety and rule of law in Africa.
TheJooooooo | 2 hours ago
Qatar is in Asia, and with how Spain is these days they might as well be in Africa and they clearly don’t mind.
Almost like it’s just chronically online people throwing a fit about nothing
DifficultyCommon5303 | 2 hours ago
1month account age/ private more activity on reddit than any other of the commenters=trolö account.
I hope youre a bot, cause for a human thats just sad :(
TheJooooooo | 11 minutes ago
Reality’s a kick in the teeth ain’t she
kelfupanda | 3 hours ago
Probably shouldnt have worn a gay pride shirt.
Like, if theres one thing I'm gonna do, its question why they thought that was a good idea.
Same deal with someone I went to class with that came out as trans, then muslim.
bryanprz91 | 7 hours ago
Do you know the number of people ICE has killed in total?
plinkoplonka | 8 hours ago
It's not that they don't WANT to come here, they do.
I have friends and family from Europe that would come every year to visit.
They never came in Trump's first term because of how he handled COVID. They didn't feel safe.
Recently. I've chatted to them and they've told me their not coming in case ICE pick them up in the airport.
Let that sink in. They're worried Trump's private army are going to disappear TOURISTS as they arrive.
That's how the rest of the world views us.
Land of if the free. Yeah. Totally.
jackaroniandcheez | 7 hours ago
As not a trump fan, weird that didn’t come because of Covid when Covid didn’t start until the last year of his term. I very much believe people are worried about being arrested by ICE while on a tourist visa.
Running-In-The-Dark | 5 hours ago
COVID-19. It started in his third year and it was kind of obvious that it was serious by December.
Th3_Hegemon | 4 hours ago
There were no cases of COVID in the US until Jan 20th 2020.
Wyvern_68 | 4 hours ago
Right? Most everywhere was locked down anyways. Started in March 2020, Trump was out of office by the next January.
neityght | 37 minutes ago
Trust me, most of the rest of the world really don't want to come to the crappy USA that exists right now.
Fine_Cauliflower3075 | 37 minutes ago
I was in Arizona for work a few weeks ago and the day before I got on the flight a friend told me about their coworker who got turned away from JFK after they went through their socials. You hear shit like this all the time now, whether it's true or not, the damage is done. I was bricking it when we landed but we sailed through no issue.
kgal1298 | 8 hours ago
I’d be curious to see how Mexico is doing with the sales since they’re hosting some games? I think it’d be telling.
qpv | 8 hours ago
I'm in Vancouver and it sounds like a similar narative is emerging
kgal1298 | 7 hours ago
Interesting are Canada games also ridiculously priced?
Just-Hunter1679 | 6 hours ago
It's pretty bad, hundreds of maple bucks to go see the games, expensive hotels and stuff.
I was planning on staying with family in Vancouver, taking the sky train into town and going to the outdoor viewing for the Canada games but have no interest in actually watching the games for $800 a ticket.
kgal1298 | 4 hours ago
Yeah it’s crazy I work in LA and we have one coworker who’s going but he’s a huge soccer fan. The tickets really set him back but obviously if you live here at least the costs lower. As far as I see SoFi is still priced high and we’re like a month out from the first games.
qpv | 6 hours ago
Yeah its similar to the Olympics greed buzz we had in Vancouver in 2010 except nobody that I know of cares about soccer as opposed to the winter Olympics. Its all talk about cashing in but few locals care about the actual event. Some do but not at that scale.
Not sure whats going to happen.
EPLWA_Is_Relevant | an hour ago
They're priced worse. Seattle has better ticket prices than Vancouver when looking at random games of similar quality.
GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace | 5 hours ago
I think they also added more teams to make this the biggest one and there's too many cities. They tried to keep the groups in the same general area but people don't realize that when the world cup is in France, France isn't big. Especially not compared to all of north America. You are asking people to fly all over this giant continent and book overly priced hotels for extended periods of time. In Europe you hop a train and go to the next city.
Effective-Method7485 | 8 hours ago
I would definitely be interested in going to a World Cup game for a reasonable rate but if they’re asking for $500 for Morocco-Australia or whatever fuck that.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 8 hours ago
Booooooo
fredjutsu | 7 hours ago
>It’s also that Americans really aren’t the biggest soccer fans
We sold out stadiums in 1994 and then again in 1999 and 2003 for the women's world cup.
Miss me with the "Americans just don't like soccer" nonsense.
Soccer is also the most played youth sport in the US by a long shot and has been so for a whole generation.
zaphodp3 | 5 hours ago
Anecdotal, but I’ve only seen people around me care about soccer when it’s women playing. Maybe Americans mostly see soccer as a women’s sport, and so the men’s version isn’t popular?
ElectricSliderz | 4 hours ago
People like a winner, and the men ain’t.
MaltySines | 4 hours ago
> Soccer is also the most played youth sport in the US by a long shot and has been so for a whole generation.
And this hasn't really translated to fans comparable even to the NHL
DoomerChad | 3 hours ago
Who cares about hotel prices, ticket prices, or even ICE when the world is running out of fuel?? I understand a lot of attendees are rich, but for the majority of regular ppl trying to come to the games - are we not living in the same world economy rn?? The last thing I’d be wasting my money on is flying around to watch soccer, let alone IN the country that caused this mess in the first place.
Kramerica_CEO | 11 hours ago
Yeah I’m so fucking tired of the greed in our society. It’s rampant in everything to the point life just isn’t enjoyable anymore. Is anything better than 10-15 years ago
GuelphEastEndGhetto | 10 hours ago
Being on vacation in Japan was refreshing. Because a bottle of water from a vending machine was 200 yen, whether it was in a train station, back alley or at a major tourist attraction. Same goes for convenience store prices, whether in the middle of an office zone or at the foothills of Mt. Fuji. It was so nice feeling that you weren’t being gouged at every turn.
Edit: included country
SwiftCEO | 9 hours ago
Airport food prices in Tokyo blew me away. I paid the equivalent of $3 for fresh sandwiches from a vending machine. LAX would never.
SeniorAd4470 | 9 hours ago
LAX would charge $3 to walk in the bathroom if they could
VivienM7 | 9 hours ago
In France lots of places charge to use the bathroom...
LordFalcoSparverius | 9 hours ago
Last place I went that charged for the bathroom had an attendant there cleaning the stalls. I didn't mind paying my $1 equivalent.
CristabelYYC | 4 hours ago
Charged me a Euro to use the facilities and I still had to beg the attendant for a sanitary pad because the bathroom didn't have any!
showyerbewbs | 7 hours ago
> LAX would charge $3 to walk ~~in the bathroom~~ if they could
Made an edit for you.
SeniorAd4470 | 7 hours ago
Appropriate
dust4ngel | 4 hours ago
i would piss on the floor - i, too, can play at capitalism
Beneficial-Beat-947 | 8 hours ago
You have to keep in mind that the GDP per capita of LA is double that of tokyos so of course things cost more
SwiftCEO | 8 hours ago
Well yeah? The main comment was pointing out that people weren’t being gouged in Japan. My point being that airport food wasn’t expensive.
Sea_Flow6302 | 9 hours ago
In South Korea you can buy a two liter of beer at a ball game at the almost the same price outside the stadium
90403scompany | 9 hours ago
… stadiums are selling 2 liter beer bottles? 😳
Sea_Flow6302 | 9 hours ago
Yes! And fried chicken is big instead of hot dogs
Few-Sheepherder-1655 | 10 hours ago
Jokes on you, they gouge you on a bottle of water everywhere in America except Sam’s Club.
GuelphEastEndGhetto | 10 hours ago
Sorry, should have clarified the vacation was in Japan.
Few-Sheepherder-1655 | 7 hours ago
I knew that. I would be interested to see how an American cashier would handle someone paying in yen.
tMoneyMoney | 10 hours ago
In NYC a bottle of Poland Springs water is always $1 at bodegas.
thewimsey | 9 hours ago
You mean water in a Poland Spring bottle?
tMoneyMoney | 9 hours ago
It’s sealed, but if it’s NYC tap water that’s probably as good or better than Poland Springs. If I need water, I don’t really care. NYC tap water is above average for municipal water.
Few-Sheepherder-1655 | 7 hours ago
I am allergic to tap water and spring water. I can only reliably drink RO water. So I’m fucked lol.
nicklor | 9 hours ago
costco also they charge a quarter from the vending machine
Few-Sheepherder-1655 | 7 hours ago
Both only require a $100 entrance fee😂. But I was referring to the vending machine too.
nicklor | 7 hours ago
This year I view it as a gas discount card lol
Few-Sheepherder-1655 | an hour ago
Honestly I’ve been filling up at buc-cees just as much as Sam’s at the same price. And then when I went to our tree farm, gas was .50 cheaper than even Sam’s.
BathingInSoup | 10 hours ago
Does Japan have laws that somehow mandates consistent pricing on goods and services?
mulemoment | 6 hours ago
No, they have a cultural resistance against price increases. They're traditionally cautious about spending, which is related to their decades of stagflation and poor wage growth.
Wages have started rising in recent years though, which has improved consumer sentiment toward price hikes
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/enough-apologies-how-japan-is-shaking-its-price-hike-phobia-2025-07-29/
Previous_Cattle_5545 | an hour ago
They also don't pay their CEOS 300X that average wage.
CitizenForty2 | 8 hours ago
This^
IneptFortitude | 10 hours ago
Did you see any salarymen throwing themselves off a building? If there’s one even more capitalism-deluded society than the US, it’d be them. You do not want to whitewash their society, trust me.
tomifibi | 9 hours ago
Tell me you know nothing about Japan without……Japan is awesome, don’t listen to this doom and gloom.
IneptFortitude | 9 hours ago
Try actually living there and being subject to their labor laws and get back to me.
djangovsjango | 9 hours ago
New zealand and australia pretty common to drink straight from tap
qpv | 8 hours ago
Are there G7 countries where tap water isn't ok in major cities?
Honestly I don't know. It is in Canadian major cities.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 10 hours ago
Nooooo its not greed the trillionaires EARNED it! Lol blows own head off
jswissle | 10 hours ago
Wrong head
Ok-Mango-5814 | 10 hours ago
Im tired, boss.
JitteryJoes1986 | 8 hours ago
I'm convince the Millennials will be the last generation that lived through the last vestige of affordability in America in the late 90s and early 2000s.
I remember when college tuition in 2005/2006 wasn't as bad as it was today. Beer was cheaper back then and the micro brewery revolution was just starting out. You could go out the movies and hit up taco bell without it hitting the wallet too much at all.
fredjutsu | 7 hours ago
>I'm convince the Millennials will be the last generation that lived through the last vestige of affordability in America in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Even on ostensibly a serious sub, we have this false consensus garbage.
Why do folks insist on assuming that their own personal financial situation is the median or normal?
I dunno, maybe as a black immigrant to the US I'm just sick and tired of the mentality that everyone is owed a top 1% lifestyle without actually working for it. Some of you guys have never actually had the Global South experience, and it really shows in your politics and theories of governance.
Even the countries you worship - Japan, I've seen on the thread and of course the Nordic utopias - the latter are more capitalist than the US is (and that's the other thing - you guys conflate rent-seeking with capitalism when the two concepts are antithetical) while the former is literally falling off a demographic cliff because everyone is worked to death. You guys would be miserable in.
GWsublime | 5 hours ago
Explain how the nordics are more capitalist than the US please?
TrontRaznik | 4 hours ago
It depends on what you're measuring, but if you look at e.g. the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, you'll see that a few Nordic countries place higher than the US
https://economicfreedom.heritage.org/pages/all-country-scores
Kramerica_CEO | 6 hours ago
You make good points and much of what you said is true and valuable perspective. However, I’d still push back slightly because biggest you’re treating complaints about affordability as entitlement rather than structural change. Those are not the same thing.
-Housing costs relative to income have risen dramatically in many metro areas.
-Healthcare, childcare, and education costs have outpaced wages for decades.
-Asset inflation has rewarded people who already owned homes/stocks while making entry harder for younger generations.
-Stable middle class milestones now often require dual incomes where one income once sufficed.
Those aren’t just people wanting “top 1% lifestyles without working for it.” They’re measurable shifts.
sharpiemustach | 10 hours ago
In theory, healthcare is better. But healthcare per $ is probably on par or worse in a lot of situations
BearTerrapin | 10 hours ago
Cheap tickets for small and local jam bands. They've filled a massive void for live music as tickets to the bigger shows have exploded. Maybe the one thing lol
qpv | 8 hours ago
My salt and pepper beard is looking pretty sweet.
OldGermanBeer | 10 hours ago
Well said.
chupamichalupa | 2 hours ago
I work at a hotel that has 300 rooms. If there is a large event in town and there are 3,000 people that want the 300 rooms, why should I not raise my price? Why would I leave money on the table?
TrontRaznik | 4 hours ago
Greed? Really? This is just a t rational response to expected market conditions(that happened to be wrong). Like, if there was suddenly extra demand for your job, would it be greedy to take an offer from another company that was willing to pay you more?
Prices are set by the interaction of supply and demand. The entire point of a business is to make money. Why on earth wouldn't they charge more if they could? Why on earth wouldn't you take a better paying job if you could? Why would businesses sell products for less than people are willing to pay? The entire idea is just silly and you're literally saying this in the economics sub.
Jor94 | 7 hours ago
People desperately want to go, they’ve just been priced out at every corner.
In theory America is a great place for such a tournament given how many people who live there will have come from the participating countries. It just butts up against the ultra capitalist hellhole that demands extortionate prices for any event that is mildly popular.
JohnSith | 8 hours ago
FIFA bribed Trump with this and its "Peace Prize" to get the corruption charges dropped against them. I hope everyone in the US boycotts the World Cup because of FIFA and the world boycotts it because of Trump.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 8 hours ago
Fifa has been worth boycotting and dissolving long before this.
CelebrationFit8548 | 3 hours ago
Giving Trump that mindless medal for being 'the biggest pedophile' really upset a lot of people and then to also see all of the ICE raids locking up international tourists for trivial and frivolous misdemeanors really has made this World Cup 'the most shit event' in soccer's history!
They debased the FIFA branding by cowering to a 'pedophile' and then to host it in a gestapo run country was only ever going to end poorly.
Lumpy-Shop-5321 | 10 hours ago
Agreed, but for what it is worth it seems like a fake story to drum up hype? FIFA = corruption
Adventurous-Map7959 | 5 hours ago
> FIFA = corruption
That can't be true, FIFA won the "FIFA Anti-Corruption" price four times in a row. (The streak would have been longer, but Quatar bribed their way in)
boomboomdaboomer | 9 hours ago
People would love coming to watch but the threat and intimidation of being deported is keeping them away. This is a major sporting event, global even and it was an opportunity to showcase America. It is being boycotted, that’s the point. And it’s completely normal to raise hotel rates when demand is there. I don’t see anything to laugh about at all.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 8 hours ago
Fuck supporting anything FIFA. Sorry sports rule their small brains. Focus on making a better world not enriching a corrupt entertainment conglomerate. Glad they aren't coming.
Fortestingporpoises | 8 hours ago
It doesn't help that our country is incredibly hostile to the people who would fly here to watch the sport in the first place.
Ok-Mango-5814 | 8 hours ago
it doesnt help that ameria is incredibly hostile to anybody whos not 1%
Fixed that for you
NSAseesU | 7 hours ago
Also canadians aren't going to usa anymore and tourism is tanking because of it. Who wants their personal phones looked at by boarder patrols? Or risk getting taken by ICE?
40_Thousand_Hammers | 8 hours ago
Seeing these news and getting a reddit ad for AirBnB it's so funny.
VoidOmatic | 7 hours ago
I'm sure they voted Republican too. They voted to make less money.
TeamRedundancyTeam | 6 hours ago
I'm surprised it was only 300%, that's not far off from what hotels in Indy do during gencon and that's just a board gaming convention.
Sleepybystander | 5 hours ago
But but but FIFA is a well recognised organisation that gives peace prize!?!?12!? Why no give money to them!?
Fuck em.
TrumpsDoubleChin | 4 hours ago
> Lol. Lmao, even.
ROTFLMAOASTC even.
Academic-County-6100 | an hour ago
While agree I think the interesting poibt is that something which is usually a globsl celebration is being boycotted by a lot of people.
Now infairness hosting an event in one of the most exoensive plscrs in the world with the strongedt currency is going to be a barrier for many but I also think many Europeans have interest in going to USA.
It has lost its shine from Trump one to Biden to Trump two.
weak1522 | 2 hours ago
Stay in your flat earth lane. How far down was fifa on your list of things to hate? good grief
kummer5peck | 10 hours ago
Good. FIFA has always been greedy but they really jumped the shark on this World Cup. I hope they fail spectacularly. I was optimistic when the US was awarded the tournament, but have zero interest in supporting it beyond patronizing a local bar to watch games.
rererexed | 4 hours ago
> FIFA has always been greedy but they really jumped the shark on this World Cup
Fifa has zero control over hotel prices and such, though. It's just that americans are now noticing their market seems so absolutely fucked for anyone who's not american that they'll just refuse to participate.
Ticket prices is a whole other story though. That's 100% on them.
> "We have to look at the market. We are in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates"
Absolute bullshit that just means "americans pay a lot for events so we'll just ask for what we want". They're basically also blaming the US entertainment market.
stxguy_1 | 2 hours ago
Also, Americans don't give a shit about soccer.
NewOstenPelicanss | 2 hours ago
It's soccer if it's in an american or canadian accent, football in any others, we ignore the australians
GenTelGuy | an hour ago
As an American, Australian football is probably the coolest tbh. Basically never watch it but it's so wild
TipToToes | 5 hours ago
You mean jumped the gun. Jumping the shark is when a tv show does something that would never happen in real life. It’s a reference to when Fonzie jumped his water skis over a shark and the audience didn’t believe that could ever happen. Too unrealistic.
HaliburtonHank | 5 hours ago
No. Jumping the gun means starting too early.
You're probably confusing it with a similar expression; pumping the rump.
Acceptable-Heron6839 | 4 hours ago
You mean jumping through hoops. Pumping the rump is what Putin does to Trump.
Not_Reddit_Famous | 4 hours ago
Crazy that you know exactly what jumping the shark means and are commenting on an article about how prices for this world cup are unrealistic to the point that people aren't going and still couldn't put 2+2 together
weak1522 | 2 hours ago
So, you literally are supporting exactly how sponsors planed. Watch our commercials and spend money while doing it. Leave the hotel rooms and game seats available AND the bar scene full and lively for the tourists.
AnomalousTravellerB | 2 hours ago
FIFA????
God damn Americans are dumb
FIFA is a non-profit and has 0 (nothing) to do with how American companies set their prices
the USA promised (in writing) in 2018 that they would make all transport free to world cup games, now they raised the prices from $12 to $150 to scam international visitors
FIFA has no control over this, the USA is tanking it's own chance to host THE international sporting event
HX__ | 2 hours ago
You seem to be the worst type of human in any country.
"FIFA isn't a bitch YOU'RE a bitch! 😡"
The organization sucks and so do you, as do the price gougers stateside.
chupamichalupa | 2 hours ago
You do understand that the reason hotels operate is so they can make money, correct?
AnomalousTravellerB | 2 hours ago
FIFA sucks but it has so much more integrity than the USA
Americans live for blaming others for their problems
you too huh
stxguy_1 | 2 hours ago
Lol using "FIFA" and "integrity" in the same sentence
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
I heard the military is hiring if you need a job
stxguy_1 | an hour ago
Are you like 15 years old or something? Have you not paid attention to what FIFA has been for it's entire existence??
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
yes, no other world cup has had these issues
have you?
stxguy_1 | an hour ago
You don't think Qatar or Russia exploited their country for profit in the name of FIFA??? FIFA is one of the most corrupt organizations around.
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
yes they did, just like the US is doing, peas in a pod
did Korea and Japan? did Brazil? did France? did Germany? did South Africa? are Mexico and Canada exploiting anyone?
its all the countries you expect to behave poorly are the ones that behave poorly. At least Russia and Qatar didn't tell any lies, or have a leader that needed a special medal
OrokaSempai | 2 hours ago
Canadian near Toronto... it's FIFAs fault for enabling shitty businesses. FIFA is a business.
stxguy_1 | 2 hours ago
We also don't give a flying fuck about soccer.
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
so why did you make a massive bid begging to host the tournament??
why ruin things for everyone?
stxguy_1 | an hour ago
Because the people in charge will pocket a shit ton of money at the expense of the people. It's the American way! And really the FIFA way as well. Two shit peas in a shit pod.
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
Then why as part of that bid did you lie and promise to make all public transport free for visitors?
stxguy_1 | an hour ago
Jesus Christ.... That's exactly how the capitalistic (and communistic and everything) world has worked forever. People at the top make grand promises for all sorts of shit to benefit the people and then take as much money for themselves and don't deliver what's promied.
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
then how did every other previous host country manage to fulfil the promises made in their bids?
stxguy_1 | an hour ago
Qatar.... Slavery! Russia.... Basically slavery in another form. FIFA + <name your country> = its own version of exploitation for profits
AnomalousTravellerB | an hour ago
thats the two most criticised world cups in history behind USA 26
please carry on, if you know so much
SaurusSawUs | an hour ago
No doubt we'll see lots of folks from the USA blowing up online with comments about how "All the poor countries don't have good sports", because they don't make enormous profits by charging huge prices, and that the fact that US sports leagues have high revenue proves that the US has the best sports, and tourists are "cheapskates lol" and so on.
It's wild to see over the last 10 years how much the pre-2020 US mass media kind of smoothed over some of these cultural differences, where some folks in the US genuinely do seem to see high prices, high corporate profits and super high pay for a few under unstable conditions as a sign of a healthy economy.
Maybe these people are just a loud minority who are not really thinking about it, I don't know.
DerpVaderXXL | 11 hours ago
Compared to other countries, we barely pay any attention to soccer anyway. This wasn't brought here by the fans. It was brought here for the big money then politics and the economy buggered it up.
If I had anymore fucks to give, it wouldn't be for soccer.
spidereater | 9 hours ago
In a way, you would expect a massive sporting event that the locals don’t care about to result in huge demand for hotels. If locals were really into it a good fraction of the tickets would be sold locally and just a small fraction would be visitors that need hotels. If locals don’t go, more visitors are coming and needing hotels.
dookieshoes97 | 9 hours ago
Honestly, I would have made every effort to attend if the whole thing wasn't such a shitshow. Fifa has killed the world cup.
Ill never forget 2018, it was an event. The bars were packed with fans. I even brought my Switch to the bars to play Fifa (world cup edition) with friends and strangers. This was in America, people who didn't even normally follow soccer were out for the experience. It even provided a boost to our fairly new MLS team (MNUFC).
2022...less so. A lot of people tuned out due to human rights abuses. It was less 'cool'.
I think both attendance and viewership will be down this year. Between the obscene ticket/hotel prices and Trump support/involvement, a lot of people will just tune out/not go. They dug their own grave.
Lord_Baconz | 8 hours ago
Interesting. Why was 2018 so popular when the US wasn’t in it? Wouldn’t 2014 have been more popular?
licoricenipple | 8 hours ago
Soccer's been consistently and intensely growing in popularity in the US over the last decade mostly due to people being exposed to it on video-based social media (which really took off in a big way in 2016) and being able to easily stream it live. By some metrics its popularity is now ahead of baseball. It was a huge curveball for sports broadcasting, no one in the industry saw it coming, and it's now one of the sharpest new-traditional TV divides and sharpest generational divides (about 66% of all Americans who watch soccer are under 30, it trends young while baseball trends old).
2014 was still pretty close to the broadcast/cable TV era, 2018 was much further into the streaming era. TikTok launched in 2016. Roku TV integration and Fire Sticks, which greatly expanded the popularity of streaming on TVs, launched at the end of 2014.
Arthur_Boo_Radley | 5 hours ago
> Compared to other countries, we barely pay any attention to soccer anyway.
Average spectator attendance in MLS is higher than NBA or NHL.
Lord_Baconz | 9 hours ago
The World Cup isn’t only for locals. It’s to boost tourism too. Most fans travel to the host country during the tournament. Some countries have hosted that didn’t have a large footballing culture like Japan and South Korea and more recently Qatar.
SexualDexter | 9 hours ago
That's what they said...
Lord_Baconz | 9 hours ago
Not really. Reread their post. They think the World Cup was brought to the US for US fans. People travel to the host countries to follow their country. Do you think the Qatar World Cup was for the Qataris?
Each conference gets the chance to host and only CONCACAF and AFCON (Morocco) bid. UEFA and AFC couldn’t host and CONMEBOL wanted to wait for the next one for the Uruguay centennial bid. OFC just isn’t a realistic option other than New Zealand.
SexualDexter | 8 hours ago
They literally said it was brought here for money and that locals don't give a fuck about soccer.
Sorry-Break-158 | 7 hours ago
Please reread their post. They are saying the lack of popularity isn’t what drove it here, it’s the money that comes from tourism associated with people coming into see the games. Now people aren’t coming to America due to the political situation and therefore there isn’t the money they were projecting.
That was their comment.
dessmond | 4 hours ago
This is what happens at great tournaments. It’s a blast! The footage is from the march of Dutch fans to the semifinal of the Euros2024 against England.
KingDaveRa | 4 hours ago
Conversely the NHL did a full game in the UK, I think it was a season opener and the idea was to promote it outside of the US. But it was a bit of a non event in the end, about the only people interested were existing fans. Some sports just aren't that big in other countries, simple as that.
Jaz1140 | 2 hours ago
Right?
As an Aussie, bring the next Stanley cup match over here for ice hockeys guys, how could it go wrong?
Accidental-Genius | 11 hours ago
Except in Miami and Atlanta. Only two WC cities in North America that have actually filled their entire hotel FIFA blocks. Guadalajara isn’t even at 20% Philly seems to be second worst but I can’t find hard data on that.
getwhirleddotcom | 11 hours ago
The opening USA men’s game isn’t even 50% sold.
teshh | 11 hours ago
Miami and Atlanta are hotspots even without the world cup. I imagine the opening match in la at sofi stadium is also the most expensive city to visit matches in.
Due to incomes, practically 90% of the world can't afford LA prices, esp for a vacation.
Just checked, even nosebleeds in LA are going for 1000-1500, and lower levels are easily 5-20k. The matches in Atlanta are starting arounder 400 to 8kish for the lowest level. That's not even taking lodging into account which will easily be 2x the price of atl and the other cities. A week in LA could fund 2 weeks in other cities.
Accidental-Genius | 11 hours ago
Atlanta is chronically underrated for being an incredible place simply because the city limits are so small people forget how huge the metro is. It’s certainly the most affordable city hosting games simply because it’s Delta’s hub and there are so many hotel rooms. Atlanta hotels haven’t been at 100% occupancy since Katrina.
Alternative-Air-1246 | 10 hours ago
It’s my go to city for major concerts. I saw the eras tour there. Despite the traffic (which is always heavy!) I had zero issues with hotel, booking, driving in, finding places to eat without reservations, etc.
Accidental-Genius | 7 hours ago
I swear the Express lanes have made traffic worse.
CarolingianDruid | 45 minutes ago
And the Falcon’s Owner, Arthur Smith, is keeping reasonable pricing for the venue.
teshh | 10 hours ago
There's just always been a huge surplus of occupancy around atlanta due to Delta and the airport. A huge chunk of intl flights land in atl before final departures. Atlanta also hosted the 1996 Olympics.
There's numerous other mega corpos like Coca cola, ups, home depot, etc headquartered in atl as well. There's a myriad of factors that made atlantas airport the busiest in the world for decades now.
Accidental-Genius | 7 hours ago
I know. It’s my hometown :)
Son_Of_A_Plumber | 5 hours ago
West Midtown/Buckhead reporting in.
Dry-University797 | 10 hours ago
Hotel prices in Miami are barely above what they are for this time a year. Some of these hotels thought they would get $500-600 a night, but you can now get that hotel for $250
Ok-Platypus-3975 | 5 hours ago
This must have just changed. My friend got tickets last week for a game at sofi for $350. He said there were some cheaper but you had to buy 6. I'm kind of curious what happened in the past week.
LittleMsSavoirFaire | 11 hours ago
Omg I can't wait to see the camera pan over empty stands
Redditcadmonkey | 9 hours ago
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed it’s that the seats won’t be empty on TV.
The “fans” might all look suspiciously like mid-level American corporate employees, or they may be wearing a strange amount of camo print clothing and face masks, but those seats will be filled.
Upbeat_Masterpiece69 | 6 hours ago
Or with ai
spoonybard326 | 10 hours ago
They should try selling some tickets for under $1,000
hibikir_40k | 5 hours ago
With more teams also come fewer games in the group stage that look exciting. If you look at, say, KC's list of games, it's not as if one will expect a lot of competitive, high energy games or anything.
Ok_Mistake9030 | 10 hours ago
We host one of the largest youth soccer tournaments in the US here and had to move it back a month due to hotel availability for the world cup. Hotel "availability" for the world cup messed up the entire youth soccer tournament schedule this year nationwide. Even the preparation for the grass field maintenance had to be shifted.
dessmond | 5 hours ago
That’s kind of logical, don’t you think? Literally all top competitions in the world have to change game schedules due to the preparation for the WC in Summer.
NewOstenPelicanss | 2 hours ago
The youth getting to experience a world cup in their country will do more for their development and enjoyment than a thousand tournaments
Iamarealbouy | 3 hours ago
Extremely damaging of them, and inconsiderate! I suspect the Youth tournements are in a school vacation? If so, that postponement means fewer children can participate.
Texas_Sam2002 | 11 hours ago
Why would anyone from outside the US want to come to this? Certainly the folks from "non-white" countries should be especially concerned. The regime hasn't done anything to make people feel more secure, as they double down on their "right" to detain, arrest, and deport anyone they like, including US citizens.
In their shoes, no way would I risk coming to the US. Kudos to legacy media outlet Forbes for not bringing up the climate of fear issue as a factor. It's important to have an independent media that voluntarily licks the boots of the regime. /s
Useless | 9 hours ago
People went to Qatar last time around, so the way people think about travel for soccer isn't exactly congruent with personal safety concerns. The price gouging has just reached some sort of elastic limit, and perhaps people are more consistently aware of the state of things in the United States rather than elsewhere. Also, there's always the chance that western world consumer confidence is deteriorating to a degree that enough people aren't willing to compete in the market for world cup trips.
One-Employment3759 | 7 hours ago
Qatar is a lot safer for foreigners than USA.
Lord_Baconz | 9 hours ago
The Qatar and Russian World Cups were different because they were being used as sports washing so there was greater confidence that tourists weren’t going to get randomly arrested.
Honestly the whole ICE thing isn’t the main concern for most fans, it’s the pricing and logistics. Most fans have been priced out and the teams play in different cities so you’d have to book flights just to follow your country’s group stage matches. Compared to past tournaments held in smaller countries where you could realistically stay in one area and just do day trips.
1306radish | 7 hours ago
How is the US also not using the World Cup for "sports washing?"
Lord_Baconz | 4 hours ago
If the yanks were sports washing then this world cup wouldnt be such a mess
1306radish | 4 hours ago
I mean the President of Fifa awards Trump the “FIFA Peace Prize” with huge media around promoting peace around the world and making the middle east more peaceful. That's a level of spectacle and sports washing neither Qatar nor Russia had. It'd be like if Fifa awarded Putin a medal of peace before he invaded Ukraine.
AnomalousTravellerB | 2 hours ago
yeah but Russia and Qatar built stadiums, transport links, lowered prices of trains and hotels to make the events run smoothly and enjoyable for visitors
the US isn't sports washing because it's actively tanking it's own reputation using this tournament, they promised in 2018 that all transport would be free but now they are just intent on scamming visitors
HBlight | 8 hours ago
Nobody wants to give their social media accounts to that fucking administration if it's contingent on a discretionary visit to the US.
zadtheinhaler | 6 hours ago
Yeah man, I don't need some boot-licking fascist to read my SM contents, roll a D12 and go, "Y'know, I hear Eswatini is nice this time of year...:.
johnniewelker | 11 hours ago
I think you have no clue about people behavior - especially regarding the World Cup. There will be plenty of people who will make the trip.
Traveling for a World Cup is not for the average person - it’s a rich person endeavor. Rich people are not bothered by the Trump admin
jayc428 | 11 hours ago
Pretty much. This is Coachella shit for soccer fans.
throwaway3113151 | 10 hours ago
Yup World Cup tickets are crazy expensive
JoannaCuppa | 10 hours ago
There's plenty of us who can afford to come over and go. It's just that most of us, in Europe at least, would rather shit in our hands and clap.
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 10 hours ago
Dang, have a ground of over 100 coming to World Cup games. Staying a few weeks to see the US.
Coming from Germany, UK, France, Spain, Argentina, Brazil mostly. They don’t seem concerned. Will be staying away from any protests. Just here to watch football games and go to Disney World, LA, NYC, Chicago, SF, and Grand Canyon/mountains.
JoannaCuppa | 10 hours ago
That's nice. Normally, the tickets would absolutely all be sold, irrespective of the cost, as Europe is fanatical about football.
Yes, there will be the odd few who travel anyway, but there are far more of us who purposely won't, due to the Trump administration.
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 9 hours ago
Cool, we will enjoy the games and seeing much of the US…
PartisanMilkHotel | 8 hours ago
Enjoy the visit. You’re getting downvoted by chronically online, (rightfully) frustrated people who want the World Cup to be a disaster.
Be safe, you’ll have a good time, and genuinely do keep a low profile when entering and leaving the country. Crazy times with a crazy gov, but the trip will be fantastic.
ETA: The level of US-centric delusion regarding the upcoming World Cup is surreal. FIFA is a criminal organization. The crimes host nations have committed against local populations in the name of WC preparedness are abundant, and the list of past hosts has no shortage of fascists and war criminals. Let’s stop pretending like every World Cup will be poorly attended as a result.
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 25 minutes ago
I am American. Well US/Australian/Malta citizenship. But a Pacific Islander(mum is Aboriginal). So darker skin tone.
No issues with US immigration, traveled 20 times outside of US and back so far this year.
But will definitely keep an eye on the crew as they come in. We may get a bit rowdy when we drink. Have Airbnb’s setup and a good list of local food/supplies to pickup.
Have a simple list of things to go see and do. And everyone wants to see a US grocery store for some reason. One of the huge ones. Plus want to check out Buc-ee’s.
Pseudoboss11 | 8 hours ago
Then why isn't every hotel booked solid, as was predicted? Or why aren't hotels in World Cup cities seeing at least a bump in bookings from last year?
ScotiaMinotia | 10 hours ago
Not true. Traditionally plenty of regular supporters have traveled for the World Cup. This one with its crazy dynamic pricing and travel complexity has just pushed it too far.
IneptFortitude | 10 hours ago
Hit or miss. I don’t think many people who went to Qatar were working class.
thyL_ | 6 hours ago
You'd be surprised. The prices there were apparently fairer and more importantly a lot more transparent than in the US.
One of the big red flags everyone in Europe and Asia is warning about is how absolutely fucked hotel prices are, how you get hit with extra fees on top of more extra fees, how room bookings can even be preordered yet when you arrive someone else simply paid more and got the room, etc. The internet is full of hypercapitalist horror stories like that.
To add tot that the ticket prices are not only way too high for the quality of stadiums and seats, there are also extreme measures taken by FIFA this time around to get every possible $ through fees. Their ticket exchange site has no set prices, sellers can demand what they want and then FIFA puts a %fee on that. lol
Seats that are relatively dogshit (extremely far away) and at a rather unimportant group stage game between small football nations were a couple hundreds originally (which was already way too expensive) but at FIFA's own ticket exchange they're going into the thousands of $$? That's just wildly ripping off people.
Add the political climate to that and that the USA are simply not that beloved anymore (and that's not only a Trump thing) and bang, you got a shit world cup host.
I've heard from quite a lot of people that they would have been happier if only Canada and Mexico had hosted (even though the latter is absolutely deep in the cartel wars shits right now and definitely not perfectly safe to travel either).
And still, come the time of the event the masses will be there, some paid actors too, the stadiums will be full(ish) and the US more than its two world cup partners will bring some over the top show as they're wont to do and the media will paint it however FIFA wants them to.
As a football fan I truly hope the stadiums aren't filled, that the atmosphere sucks, that it's all a big shitshow that everyone will make fun of forever.
But it won't be, because it's all going to be paid off to look pretty and fun and the game is long gone.
Count_de_Mits | 2 hours ago
Also a lot of fans that went to Qatar were from Europe which is both closer and cheaper to fly to than the US
tommfury | 10 hours ago
Where are the reservations then?
fredmerz | 10 hours ago
This is anecdotal, but I know blue eyed, blond haired Swedes and Swiss who aren’t coming because of 1) the political climate, and 2) FIFA being awful. Tickets are so expensive tho and it seems like they’re selling?
OK_x86 | 10 hours ago
I think it's fair to say many people can't afford to go especially with prices being what they are. I think it's also fair to say that there is a significant portion of football fans that are not American and that traveling to the US at the moment us a risky proposition especially for non whites. And there's enough foreign people who are equally concerned about the two.
GluckGluck999 | 10 hours ago
Lmao what is this fear mongering more than half o us is ”non whites”. Everyone blends in there
tMoneyMoney | 10 hours ago
Also, are any tourists getting arrested by ICE? I’m seriously asking because I’ve seen no news about that so don’t understand where fear mongering would come into play. People getting deported are trying to live here, not stay for a few weeks with a return ticket booked.
BetterEveryLeapYear | 9 hours ago
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/15/irish-tourist-ice-detention
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/ice-german-tourist-detained-immigration
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
https://www.nhpr.org/new-england-news/2026-01-20/immigration-ice-detention-mistaken-border-crossing-vermont-newhampshire
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj4w91vz7jo
........
tMoneyMoney | 9 hours ago
Only clicked a few of these and one was related to expired visa and the other was someone who moved to the US. That isn’t traveling to the US for a few weeks with a return ticket like I mentioned.
heyheyhey27 | 9 hours ago
I don't think ICE ask for people's bank account info before detaining them.
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 10 hours ago
Hmm, have friends that follow EU teams. They will be traveling to US for games. Then staying for a few weeks to see the US.
They do this every World Cup since 1980s. Many coming from Spain, Argentina and Brazil. Along with Germany, UK, France.
Gustomucho | 10 hours ago
Yeah, geriatric crowd from 6 countries! I am sure they are super eager to travel for weeks !
NullVoidDeezNutz | 7 hours ago
the fuck does this even mean?
Gustomucho | an hour ago
Dude claims he knows many people from the 80s traveling the world from different countries… 40-46 years later… sorry but this sounds fishy as hell
Sekitoba | 4 hours ago
My friend is going to 2 games with his son who is 6. From what i heard each ticket cost just under 2k. And yes, he is rich.
7ddlysuns | 10 hours ago
Dems would be blamed for DEI if this happened on their watch. But the pet media can’t say nothing
suckit_trebeck | 8 hours ago
I'm in the US and wonder why anyone domestically would want to go either. It's just not a sport here. RSL games are kinda fun if it's a free ticket. Caught a Barca game in Barcelona and it was so boring. I was so excited for the hooligan shit show but they actually watch the soccer and don't party. Do they put the whistles away and let the dudes play in the world cup? The constant diving and fake injuries are frankly embarrassing. The women's game is so much more watchable
originalgrapeninja | 11 hours ago
>Certainly the folks from "non-white" countries should be especially concerned.
Why is that?
strangefish | 11 hours ago
ICE targets non-white people.
originalgrapeninja | 11 hours ago
Tourists?
Newtohonolulu18 | 10 hours ago
If you’re not aware, it’s dangerous for any foreigner (and plenty of American citizens) to be in the US during the Trump admin. Canadians spending weeks in detention camps, German tourists being detained for weeks. It’s been wild.
originalgrapeninja | 10 hours ago
That doesn't make alot of sense (detaining tourists). It makes me think there may be more to these stories.
Newtohonolulu18 | 10 hours ago
Google it. I think you’ll find the law being applied in an arbitrary and capricious way.
originalgrapeninja | 10 hours ago
No, I'm not interested in politics.
fartpotatoes23 | 9 hours ago
Yes, you are. That's why you are trolling by acting dumb.
originalgrapeninja | 8 hours ago
Sorry to hurt your feelings.
FatSteveWasted9 | 8 hours ago
a.k.a. why does this cognitive dissonance hurt so much?
originalgrapeninja | 8 hours ago
Are you projecting?
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 10 hours ago
Yeah, traveling to Mexico/Canada on a US visa can be difficult. Many visa’s do not allow such travel.
And with high backlog within immigration courts. Can see a delay for USCIs Agent or Immigratikn Judge to hear the case.
Also, DHS wants cases to go before an Immigration Judge or USCIS Agent to render a verdict. So even if one wants to voluntarily leave, maybe prevented to do so, until case is heard and verdict delivered.
Always been US law over such issues. Traveling to US on visa, does not mean one can go to Mexico or Canada. Just DHS/ICE enforcing laws…
Just some facts. Would rather they self deport and leave US in that situation. But so many have “I will leave” and never do. So holding before court/case and enforcing US laws.
Newtohonolulu18 | 10 hours ago
I think you responded to the wrong comment. What you commented has no connection to my post (travel to Mexico and Canada, etc.).
For the record, I mean things like this. https://www.vice.com/en/article/u-s-jails-and-deports-german-teens-over-suspicious-vacation/
Substantial-Ad-8575 | 9 hours ago
Yeah, that has always been a tricky situation. With DHS holding individuals without full travel details. Detainments have happened in 80s-90s-2000s-2010s also.
Law changed in 1996. About visa’s, traveling between US and Mexico/Canada. And notifying Border Patrol of where visa applicant will be staying.
Interesting story from 2014…
https://komonews.com/news/local/foreign-backpacker-arrested-for-staying-in-us-half-hour-too-long-11-21-2015
Djaja | 10 hours ago
Well if they dont speak English without an accent, yeah, they can be stopped.
HectorJ | 11 hours ago
ICE is acting a bit KKK-like
Square_Level4633 | 11 hours ago
Because it's ameriKKKa.
v12vanquish | 10 hours ago
Another ragging Redditor who thinks ICE is arresting legal tourists.
You really need to go outside
Texas_Sam2002 | 10 hours ago
I assume you meant "raging" but I don't expect MAGA to be able to spell. At least it sort of shows that you're not a bot, just a garden-variety moron.
Here's just some of the Whites:
Recent Tourist Detentions by ICE (2025-2026)
Improvcommodore | 9 hours ago
ICE is absolutely arresting legal tourists. Fascism is broad-sweeping and does not care about your papers if they choose not to care about them.
Trezzie | 9 hours ago
Haven't they arrested legal citizens and detained them for days?
chontzy | 10 hours ago
🙈
Seahorse_Vibes | 7 hours ago
> Another ragging Redditor
How does a ragging(?) redditor differ from the type of redditor you are?
FatSteveWasted9 | 8 hours ago
Vanquish is a piece of shit ride
Owl_Resident | 11 hours ago
We know why people aren’t coming. Forbes knows why. Despite them not mentioning it at all in this article. Why would anyone wish to come here at all?
As an American, I’d much rather go overseas to see a World Cup or the Olympics, or heck, at least go to Canada, to at least support countries who more embody the values of “togetherness” these types of world sporting events purport to put forth. (Though let’s be honest, FIFA itself only cares about the one thing and one thing only.)
But seriously, when there’s the threat of ICE at every venue, the difficulty of obtaining a visa, and the possibility of harassment at even the airport, why would anyone bother to come? Not to mention the cost of the tickets and travel themselves.
Alternative-Air-1246 | 10 hours ago
Plus an unnecessary war driving up gas and flight prices astronomically. India issued today from Modi wfh recommendations such as covid to conserve fuel.
As much as we are feeling it at the pump, it’s a lot worse overseas. We need a real peace agreement and the straight open up. Or more likely to happen, a magical Time Machine and go back to this time 2024….
notarobat | 7 hours ago
Most people I know who decided not to go did so because of the genocide. They didn't want to take part in sports washing while that was going on. Not many people from Europe will care too much about ICE. Maybe in some other places they do, but generally that is seen as a thing that locals need to worry about rather than tourists
clm1859 | 2 hours ago
And not to mention the boycotts. Lots of us abroad have been america for a while for attacking and insulting and blackmailing us. Even if it was easy and cheap and safe and convenient to travel there, many wouldnt anyway.
dancingfordates | 9 hours ago
I travel around a lot...
The basic vibe is that America is cruel, Trump is a gangster and ICE are attacking minorities.
Why would any sane person come to the US when they can travel to friendly cultures🤷♂️
We have fucked up at an historic level, the right wing trumpers have destroyed our long term credibility
Infinite-4-a-moment | 9 hours ago
I don't travel much and that's still the basic vibe I get too.
The-MDA | 9 hours ago
I work for a European company and have colleges in South America. Can confirm this.
Taylo | 8 hours ago
Do you mean colleagues?
HBlight | 8 hours ago
>the right wing trumpers have destroyed our long term credibility
Putin has undermined the longterm strength of the biggest problem he faced, a united and coherent West. Now everyone is trying to make their own alternatives to what was once dependable US services which again breaks cohesion.
Bay1Bri | 8 hours ago
Yea, the soccer bros had no problem doing to qatar and Russia, so miss me with that. I don't deny that is a small part of it, but it seems much more likely that it's the ticket prices and other economic factors. Unless you actually think Russia and Qatar are safer than the US (which you get likely do because Reddit)
CockchopsMcGraw | 3 hours ago
I mean Qatar is orders of magnitude safer than the US, the crime stats are there in black and white
Bay1Bri | 51 minutes ago
You're a sweet kid
CockchopsMcGraw | 45 minutes ago
Am I wrong?
kuldan5853 | 45 minutes ago
I mean it's true. Quatar is still a shithole when it comes to human rights, but they have a habit of treating tourists well - contrary to the US.
MusicOfTheSphere | 7 hours ago
This right here. True soccer bros give no fucks about location politics. I think it is much more about expenses. Everything is more expensive now, FIFA has jacked up the ticket prices into the stratosphere, and the games are so far apart physically that each move is like a whole other trip, not just a train ride in Europe or something.
Tall-Ad-1386 | 9 hours ago
I haven’t heard anything about ICE for months now
Rupperrt | 11 hours ago
It’s simple math. A World Cup will attract thousands of people, but also deter thousands who would have come otherwise but won’t because they don’t care about football and it’s too crowded and most of all too expensive.
Gotta set prices accordingly to find a balance. Gestapo like immigration handling obviously doesn’t help, neither that the World Cup is also held in two countries that treat guests more friendly.
Nessie_of_the_Loch | 10 hours ago
The issue wasn't even with the hotel pricing. It was FIFA. They priced the games way too high. In most WC games, you'll have a ton of foreigners coming over to support their nations, who become a captive audience for the nearby hotels.
This time FIFA got too greedy, making it unaffordable for anyone but those with deep corporate pockets. It's too expensive for even upper middle class Americans. How would someone from South America afford to attend? They can't. So a ton of attendees will be the type who flies in private and leaves the same day, who won't need to stay at any hotels.
john_a1985 | 6 hours ago
South Americans can and would.
No one wants their trip redirected to El Salvador, though.
footyspecular1234 | 3 hours ago
This is the only reason and I don't understand why anyone else would have other explanations. There would be widespread pushback if FIFA suggested ticket prices this high in Europe. They saw an opportunity to have this orchestrated in the USA.
No one cares about Trump and ICE, that's just wild exaggeration.
Smelly_God | 2 hours ago
Remember all the "protests" and disgust at the world cup being held in South Africa, then in Saudi Arabia. Even Brazil had a lot of controversy with the stadium constructions. US has a lot of issues and I think people shouldn't come to influence our gdp but that's not what's going to happen
Otterfan | 7 hours ago
Also the games are spread out wildly. They will be in:
That's spread across an entire coninent about twice the size of Europe. Most cities will host only seven events.
Compare that to a real tourist boon like the Olympics, where thousands of events are all held in a single city.
It's barely a blip. It's the equivalent of adding a few NFL games to the season or maybe a bringing a music festival to each city.
im_super_excited | 6 hours ago
New York/New Jersey is not a real place
Ironsam811 | 10 hours ago
It’s also NYC…Met life and MSG are sold out like once a week
JoSeSc | 10 hours ago
World cup visitors also don't pay the same prices as concert goers. It's a different proposition to pay 300% of the usual rate if you stay for a night. If you come for the world cup and stay a few weeks to see multiple games 300% room rates are not sustainable for your average fan.
IamNobody85 | 4 hours ago
At least for my brother, it's the Gestapo like immigration. He'd have gotten complimentary tickets had he wanted. But he'd have to basically provide information about 3 generations of the family, 15k usd bond per person and then still fear the immigration. He said it's not worth it. He came to Europe (I live there) for the Euros last year and wanted to go to the US leg of the world cup because we have a lot of family in the US, so wanted to kill two birds with one stone. But then the stories from immigration started coming and as a brown person with a weak passport, he changed his mind.
evabunbun | 11 hours ago
Obviously there is the political element but there is also the sheer cost of things plus layoffs and a recession. Sluggish global economy. Feels sad.
PalmArtian | 11 hours ago
Seriously. How and why do people keep paying these prices for things? It’s just crazy to me.
But also, yeah. I wouldn’t go to Russia (from the US) to watch World Cup games. Probably feels like that to a lot of foreigners right now.
evabunbun | 11 hours ago
There is also a lot of politics within FIFA as well that is off putting to many especially after the Qatar World Cup.
NeglectedDuty | 10 hours ago
Didn't you know the Dow is over fifty thou?!
Berserker76 | 11 hours ago
Why would anyone come to the US to watch the games? So you can be harassed or detained by ice indefinitely, as they racially profile you, ignore your passport and deny you any due process.
I would avoid the US at all costs, at least until Trump is gone.
FloppyButtholeJelly | 11 hours ago
Ice deez nuts as they say in Sweden
BigBoyYuyuh | 11 hours ago
Even after Trump is gone avoid the US. Americans elected this fascist fuck, twice. 2024 told me America is a racist and fascist nation.
whistleridge | 10 hours ago
No, it didn’t.
2024 told you that a third of Americans are racist and fascist, a third of Americans are fighting that other third like hell, and a third are too young, too old, or too poor to participate in the system.
The third still fighting like hell needs all the help the can get. Which includes NOT going to the World Cup, but also not writing them off if they manage to get back in office. Because it CAN happen where you are too.
PlanXerox | 7 hours ago
A third of people that could vote....don't vote. If they did, it would be worse in the USA.
whistleridge | 7 hours ago
And they don't vote because they're working 70 hours a week to get by, because they don't get paid time off work to vote, and because they've been so steadily fucked by both parties that 'a plague on BOTH their houses' more or less sums up their political positions.
You aren't owed their vote, and you haven't earned it. Republicans are far worse than Democrats, but Democrats aren't exactly killing it. And while Reddit leftists don't want to hear it, their brand of wannabe radical socialized democracy is about as popular with the average American as a root canal.
juice06870 | 9 hours ago
A third of Americans don’t want to be overrun with 10 million illegal immigrants in 4 years. That isn’t racism. That’s common sense.
whistleridge | 9 hours ago
Since you appear to be unaware of it, this:
> overrun
is racism.
There are 350 million Americans, so even if your 10 million number was accurate, that's 1 in 35, or 2.8%. That's not "overrun."
Also, your number isn't right. The total number of illegal immigrants in the US peaked circa 2006, steadily declined until 2021, then rose by about 4 million. You are confusing unauthorized border encounters with immigration, and they're not the same thing. Also, point in fact Biden was among the most aggressive Presidents on immigration action.
So no: a third of Americans don't care about actual data, they just want someone brown to hate. But they know the word "racism" is bad, so instead of, you know...not being racist, they preface their racist bullshit with "I'm not racist, but..." type commentary.
Do better.
juice06870 | 10 minutes ago
“Do better”
Biden left the border wide open. 10 million people came in unvetted. Democrats pretended it was not a problem for 3.5 years and told the country not to believe their lying eyes.
Then all of a sudden 6 months before the 2024 election, Biden tried to get serious about the border because someone managing his campaign finally realized it was actually an issue voters were upset about.
So was Biden racist in 2024 when he tried to close the border ? Was Obama racist when he deported illegals?
Are citizens of any country racist because they want secure borders?
If your answer to any of the above is yes, then do better.
Bay1Bri | 8 hours ago
That didn't happen.
juice06870 | 13 minutes ago
bot
MarsReject | an hour ago
Trump never won the popular vote.
He “won” the electoral college.
juice06870 | 9 hours ago
Somehow Obama got elected. Kamala was vice president. You have Ilhan Omar. AOC. Corey Booker. 26% of congress are people of color. 28% in the House of Representatives. 16% of senators.
But somehow Americans are all racist. Lmao. Turn off MSNBC and Reddit.
BigBoyYuyuh | 9 hours ago
Red states are decimating black districts now. Argument invalid until the heat death of the universe.
juice06870 | 13 minutes ago
Blue states are decimating white districts. So I guess that’s racism too.
Bay1Bri | 8 hours ago
> 2024 told me America is a racist and fascist nation.
Yrw, they probably generalize an entire group for what some of that group does! Not like you, right dude?
v12vanquish | 10 hours ago
Ice isn’t detaining tourists to be a concern for people.
But if you believe in blue anon crap, then I totally understand where you’re coming from.
Berserker76 | 9 hours ago
So tired of you MAGA morons. ICE has in fact detained tourists and over 50+ people have died in their custody since Trump has been back in office.
ICE has arrested and detained American citizens they shown them proof of their citizenship and they just claim it is fake.
Tourism is already down like 80%+ under Trump, but I anticipate these games will be played in stadiums that are over 50% under capacity.
All these cities and states spent billions in preparation for the World Cup and like everything else Trump touches, it will be a catastrophic failure and cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars.
LyrMeThatBifrost | 4 hours ago
You need to get off reddit for a bit lmao
twenafeesh | 10 hours ago
Take that, corporate America! People are afraid and/or repulsed by the idea of traveling to the USA for the World Cup or anything else. We sure showed us!
djangovsjango | 9 hours ago
I call this " corporate leprosy " big money gets involved and charge big money thinking the suckers will pay absolutely anything in turn ruining the core product that people avoid add trumps festering hand of corruption and rascism in what is the biggest global sports event is it any wonder. Like they say everything trump touches turns to shit
SneakyMamba007 | 10 hours ago
I am privileged enough (thankfully) to attend the world cup. I love soccer. My son loves soccer. We have traveled for games, I have attended a couple of world cups in the past. For the longest time, I was looking forward to doing a game in each host country with my son but I am now absolutely turned off by the scam fest that I am choosing to sit this one out Fuck Fifa!
Who_ate_my_cookie | 11 hours ago
FIFA charges 700 a ticket and makes the lottery process confusing and uncoordinated, then gets surprised when seats aren’t selling out. Hotels are charging 300 a night and are surprised when people don’t want to stay there, sounds like they tried to gouge the market for this event like we do everything in America and now they’re realizing there’s actually a limit
NoPermissions94 | 6 hours ago
The hotel I work for tried selling 4-night minimum fully prepaid at $1400/night. I think we sold 3. Got completely scrapped last month and rates are dropping by the day.
chupamichalupa | an hour ago
Same here. It makes sense, set the price as high as possible and readjust if it doesn’t match demand.
chupamichalupa | 2 hours ago
Lol I work for a hotel near one of the stadiums and $300/night would be a steal. Our World Cup prices are in the $750-$1,500/ night range with minimum length of stay requirements.
Dry-University797 | 10 hours ago
FIFA would rather give the tickets to charity than cut the prices and admit defeat
NinjaTabby | 9 hours ago
They gave it to rich / celebrities man. No way in hell they give it to charity (ie: the poor).
Dry-University797 | 9 hours ago
My point was, they would rather give the tickets away than lower the price and admit defeat.
mancho98 | 10 hours ago
It's ridiculous that the world Cup is in North America. The world old cup should have been only in Mexico. Canadians and Americans don't even Watch the game. Also $7000 to see a game? Wtf
photon1701d | 9 hours ago
Under normal circumstances, having the event here is a no brainer as travelling to USA was always easy. But we all know what happened and greed took over and has made the event toxic. I still have 2 stubs from 1994 where I paid $30 and $40 for 2 games. I applied for tickets, I am glad I did not get selected after seeing what happened with prices and bullshit seat locations. Screw Fifa.
DataDude00 | 5 hours ago
There are a ton of European descended people in Canada that are soccer fans. Toronto games are sold out and going to be crazy
Bay1Bri | 8 hours ago
You really don't get how this works, do you?
purpletooth12 | 7 hours ago
Lots of Canadians watch soccer.
It's the most played amateur sport in the country.
Less people than Mexico of course, but tickets are a hot item here.
I have mine and didn't have to take out a 2nd mortgage, but also live in a host city. I'm beyond excited for this.
With that being said, I don't disagree in that Mexico could've easily hosted this on their own.
thyL_ | 6 hours ago
One of the big red flags everyone in Europe and Asia is warning about is how absolutely fucked hotel prices are, how you get hit with extra fees on top of more extra fees, how room bookings can even be preordered yet when you arrive someone else simply paid more and got the room, etc. The internet is full of hypercapitalist horror stories like that.
To add tot that the ticket prices are not only way too high for the quality of stadiums and seats, there are also extreme measures taken by FIFA this time around to get every possible $ through fees. Their ticket exchange site has no set prices, sellers can demand what they want and then FIFA puts a %fee on that. lol
Seats that are relatively dogshit (extremely far away) and at a rather unimportant group stage game between small football nations were a couple hundreds originally (which was already way too expensive) but at FIFA's own ticket exchange they're going into the thousands of $$? That's just wildly ripping off people.
Add the political climate to that and that the USA are simply not that beloved anymore (and that's not only a Trump thing) and bang, you got a shit world cup host.
I've heard from quite a lot of people that they would have been happier if only Canada and Mexico had hosted (even though the latter is absolutely deep in the cartel wars shits right now and definitely not perfectly safe to travel either).
And still, come the time of the event the masses will be there, some paid actors too, the stadiums will be full(ish) and the US more than its two world cup partners will bring some over the top show as they're wont to do and the media will paint it however FIFA wants them to.
As a football fan I truly hope the stadiums aren't filled, that the atmosphere sucks, that it's all a big shitshow that everyone will make fun of forever.
But it won't be, because it's all going to be paid off to look pretty and fun and the game is long gone.
_-_fred_-_ | 4 hours ago
You must be fun at parties.
FidgitForgotHisL-P | 11 hours ago
They should look to their federal government and the incredibly hostile environment they’ve created for people from a whole lot of countries that love football…
ReachParticular5409 | 9 hours ago
yeah well looking at them isn't going to stop them
Not even the Constitution is stopping them
WTF do you expect citizens to do?
FidgitForgotHisL-P | 7 hours ago
I honestly have no idea.
I mean, the second amendment was literally intended for what’s taking place now, but I guess everyone’s not quite there yet.
The only reason I’m still sane is because I’m not American. I wouldn’t have been able to handle living there under Donald, watching all the corruption etc and felt compelled to fight it any way that presented itself. (I don’t mean violence here, I mean volunteering, yelling at people on the streets, so sting anything I could to charities trying to make up for what he’s destroyed, and so on)
ReachParticular5409 | 6 hours ago
>I mean, the second amendment was literally intended for what’s taking place now, but I guess everyone’s not quite there yet.
the 2nd amendment was written when there was functionally no difference between a soldier with a rifle and a civilian with a rifle.
Now the military has tanks, drones, jets, crowd control weaponry, and high tech body armor
A redneck with a rifle just doesn't compare anymore.
thegreatshark | 11 hours ago
It pisses me off to no end that international football is managed by some shady private company in Switzerland. The last 3 world cups were held in places that have basically no teams, no history of serious football (sorry Mexico) nor any business hosting a world event that is meant to attract people from all around the world. Russia and Qatar speak for themselves but I’d argue the strict visa requirements, distance from places where the majority of football fans live plus the massive housing costs are major reasons why the WC shouldn’t have been hosted in North America. At least not after the last 2 “outreach” cups.
How do we live in a world where the money and authority from all of football are monopolized by a handful of shameless ghouls?? Why don’t we have a real non profit, or an international body to run these tournaments?? The billions made yearly from football could have financed any number of things, instead it’s going into the pockets of people who have likely never even played it.
VentiMochaTRex | 10 hours ago
Soccer is the most played sport in Canada, believe it or not. It's just not as marketable on the professional level for whatever reason.
GodofsomeWorld | 8 hours ago
They have cutthroat prices for anyone wanting to buy the streaming rights and ICE waiting to jump you if you travel there and world cup organisers just bring a general asshole to everyone. Then they wonder why there are fewer people wanting to watch it.
InsideAd732 | 8 hours ago
My idiot city commissioners spent so much money we don't have to "update the city's infrastructure" to accommodate the games. Roads torn up everywhere you look, streets blocked off completely to traffic for months and months (which is killing businesses), major water and plumbing line replacements. When this administration's shenanigans started popping off, I knew the mythical world cup windfall was over before it even started. Apparently my city's leaders don't pay attention to literally anything and draw logical conclusions based on that information.
Anyway, back to taking four detours for no reason just to get to my kid's school.
TaxLawKingGA | 9 hours ago
I am here in Atlanta, a host city, and I have been told by people in the hotel and convention industry that many people are not coming. They have been told by many of those who have canceled previous reservations that between the tickets being overpriced, increased air fare due to the Iran War, hatred of Trump, and fear of guns in the U.S., that many foreign visitors are not coming.
🤷🏽♂️
LyrMeThatBifrost | 4 hours ago
Who told you this? My hotel has been sold out for a while during the WC.
DeflatedDirigible | 9 hours ago
Foreign tourism continues to increase in Orlando. Plenty of Muslim families and those speaking Spanish and Portuguese feel safe at the theme parks.
Those cancelling are likely making excuses for the real reason they aren’t going is because their friends aren’t jealous. Attending used to be a status symbol but now socially they have to fall in line and hate who their friends hate.
Two of Osama Bin Landen’s sons went to Disneyland while their father was openly against the US, democracy, and capitalism.
Guidosama | 11 hours ago
I imagine it will pick up as things get closer. But the political climate and high costs will be a major barrier.
The US is extremely expensive for other countries. Salaries here are much higher (as are costs).
scott042 | 11 hours ago
Not just hotels but game tickets are between $500 to $1000+ a seat depending on the game. Who the hell is paying that kind of money for one game and to travel here.
gotaflattire | 4 hours ago
Americans know that they'll just be nickel and dimed every inch of the way through the World Cup and everyone else in the world knows to stay far away from the USA.
And as I've said before, it's just soccer. No one cares here.
Critical-Dealer-3878 | an hour ago
Pretty sure MLS averages more viewers than the NHL, bud.
gotaflattire | an hour ago
ok, and who cares about the NHL?
clm1859 | 3 hours ago
Even tho we absolutely loved our california roadtrip in 2024 and were already planning another one for florida for 2025 (which we ofc scrapped).
I would not even go to the US if i somehow got an all expenses paid holiday with business class flights. Certainly not under the current regime.
Glad to see I am not the only one who feels this way.
spwolf | an hour ago
Dallas hotels were easily 8x the usual rates, plus no cancellations.
What happened?
We shortened the stay and went to Vegas for half of the days.
They say market economy corrected itself, it did!
Lumpy-Shop-5321 | 10 hours ago
If it matters this seems fake. Forbes has had paid for content in the past, also just seems sort of a repeat of like six other headlines. But most of all a topic people don't care about. I guess you would be able to find someone who claims to care, but I am figuring there are more relevant stories out there right now. Mainly why is has so expensive and why has the Epstein files not been fully released?
DaCrazyJamez | 3 hours ago
Well, this reddit post was how I learned that the world cup is happening in the US this year. Goes to show how much attention its getting here...
Thund3rf0000t | 7 hours ago
I do not understand why they decided to host in the US I am sorry but Football (american) is king here most middle age and older do not care about soccer I live in Kansas City and believe me we do not give a damn. we care more about college football and basketball over soccer lol.
travisjudegrant | 7 hours ago
The ‘94 world cup was held in the US and it was super popular, but people also weren’t scared to travel to the US in ‘94…
psychological_nebula | 5 hours ago
Same goes vice versa. Who here (and most of the world) cares about American Football? Would be kinda weird to hold the Super Bowl in Paris, Berlin or London. Yet someone thought it was a good idea to give the US another World Cup.
MelloCookiejar | 3 hours ago
FIFA has been trying to make soccer a thing in the US for decades now. Lots of money and influence for them if they succeed. That's why.
They're still trying to make 'fetch' happen.
Senator_poop | 9 hours ago
This is economics thread. lol. Why is anyone surprised that FIFA has one goal? It’s not like this org was born from some “higher order.” It’s all about perpetuating and increasing value. We shouldn’t be surprised by this.
logitaunt | 7 hours ago
I mean yeah you're supposed to raise rates when the wealthiest people in the world are supposed to visit your area. Why is this news to some people?
peathah | 2 hours ago
Yes it's peak capitalism supply and demand.