The Youth Lab
World Cup: Who’s It Really For?
When fandom becomes a revenue stream
Whether your team is there or not (and a moment to recognise the national heartache of Ireland who won’t be off to North America this summer), the World Cup has long sold itself as a Tournament that belongs to everyone. In 2026 however, that illusion is harder to sustain. The biggest World Cup ever staged, 48 teams, 104 matches, across the United States, Canada and Mexico, is not just a football spectacle but a commercial machine. With FIFA projecting more than $11 billion in revenue, the tournament looks less like mass participation and more like profit maximisation.
In this edition of 52INSIGHTS, we explore how the world’s biggest football tournament is turning mass fandom into a premium pay-for experience.
THE COST OF FANDOM
“Football has never been more global, accessible, or financially powerful, yet many fans feel increasingly disconnected from the game. This is not the result of a single change, but of a structural shift in how football operates.”
- FBTG, X User.
Ticket prices may be the clearest pressure point, but the bigger story is how cost now compounds across the entire World Cup journey. Hotel rates have surged in host cities by over 300%, transport is being priced as a revenue stream, and even parking has been formalised into a premium charge ranging from $75 to $175 per game. These are not scattered price rises but stacked barriers, turning attendance from a shared cultural experience into a layered commercial transaction.
That tension cuts deeper when FIFA continues to market the World Cup as a global, inclusive event. For some fans, access to the United States may require visa bonds of up to $15,000 before a ticket is even in play, making inclusion feel conditional rather than universal.
At the same time, host cities are left carrying major security and infrastructure costs while FIFA retains control of the most valuable commercial rights. Revenue is centralised, risk is pushed outward, and the price of belonging keeps rising.
WHAT'S CAUSING THE RUPTURE BETWEEN THE WORLD CUP AND FAN CULTURE
The fan is now a revenue model, not just a participant.
The introduction of new ticket tiers, is a move being compared to Ticketmaster’s ‘Dynamic Pricing’ which caused controversy last year’s Oasis tour. Fans who paid top-tier prices (for top-tier seats) have reportedly been reallocated seats in weaker sections, with better seats reappearing on the market at higher rates. Layer on the surge in hotel prices, limited transport capacity and tightly controlled parking, and you get a fan who increasingly feels locked out of the event that is at the epicentre of football’s greatest moments.
The current geopolitical context is also no longer separable from the fan experience.
Concerns around immigration enforcement, visa restrictions and broader geopolitical tensions have become part of the tournament narrative, once again challenging the notion of the tournament being built on the ideal of inclusivity. And while Gianni Infantino’s expansion to 48 teams is framed as a democratisation of opportunity, the net effect is more inventory: more matches, more tickets, more broadcast slots..more commercial growth. And therein lies the paradox - a World Cup that is growing in scale and revenue, while the lived fan experience is increasingly exclusionary.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Of course World Cups have always generated friction around pricing and access, and indeed the lengths some will go to to get a ticket, but the bigger risk for The World Cup 2026 is a permanent erosion of the emotional contract between the game and its audience.
BRAND TAKEOUTS
Inclusion first
For brands, the World Cup offers scale, visibility and emotional resonance, but for 2026, the bigger opportunity is to think of inclusion and fan participation for all - not just the few.
When fans are priced out, any initiative that restores participation, whether through community screenings, subsidised experiences or digital inclusion, carries disproportionate value.
Investing in Cultural Capital
As governing bodies increasingly prioritise revenue, the emotional weight of the game is increasingly held by fans, creators and communities. Brands that align with those groups, have the opportunity to drive greater credibility.