The figure is in all official press releases. The 2026 World Cup will welcome up to 6.7 million spectators in 16 cities across three American countries, from June 11 to July 19. Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of the Oxford Economics firm, is counting on 742,000 additional international visitors to the United States and around $900 million in hotel revenue on American soil. According to another recent survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, nearly 80 percent of hotels in host cities are experiencing lower-than-expected bookings. The great narrative of the World Cup as a tourist machine crashes against the reality of a world that has become more complicated to cross.
The reasons for this discrepancy are multiple and overlapping. First, the price.
“Tickets reaching $10,000 for the final are not a trivial communication. They point out that this event is no longer designed for ordinary fans, but for an international premium clientele.â€
Then, geopolitics. The war in Iran has disrupted several Middle Eastern air routes, made plane tickets significantly more expensive and generated widespread uncertainty over the safety of large public gatherings. Several independent analyzes also document a growing reluctance to travel to the United States in certain key tourist markets in Latin America and Europe, linked to the country’s image since 2025.
The new geography of the supporter
What this edition reveals is a profound transformation in the figure of the international supporter. For a long time, going to see a World Cup was an adventure accessible to the middle classes of qualified countries. Today, entry tickets are prohibitive. The hotels are saturated. As for long-haul flights, they are too expensive. The administrative procedures for traveling are complicated. This is how travel has become a practice increasingly reserved for wealthy categories. Supporters of African or Asian teams, who often travel the greatest distances, are also the most sensitive to these economic and logistical barriers. The geographical diversity promised by a tournament expanded to 48 teams is thus partially contradicted in the stands.
The real fan revolution in 2026 is elsewhere: it is digital. Broadcasting rights and legal and illegal streaming, online sports betting, giant screens in fan zones, social networks, mean that hundreds of millions of people experience the World Cup without leaving their city or their country.
“FIFA receives its revenues, advertisers reach their audiences, host cities welcome their quota of visitors.â€
But the supporter who rocked the myth of the popular and universal World Cup, the one who crossed a continent with a flag and a third-class ticket, perhaps already belongs to a bygone story. What geopolitics, prices and visas started, the digital entertainment economy is discreetly finishing.
