FIFA’s World Cup is an unmitigated success, save for one very expensive detail
Lars Fredenlund figures he might not be able to do this again, and this is one of those times in life where money can’t matter.
To make attending this World Cup a possibility, money can’t be the top priority.
The resident of Oslo, Norway, is not unlike so many thousands of people who have, or will, travel overseas to Canada, the United States and Mexico to watch one of these World Cup matches that have become the single biggest party and get-together the world has ever seen.
Thus far, he has attended Norway’s matches in New York, Boston, Arlington, and now he’s back in New York City to watch Norway’s knockout match against Brazil, on July 5.
“After Norway’s win over Brazil, (Norway striker Braut Halland) scores, sadly I have to go home to my family,” Fredenlund said with optimism, confidence, sadness and a hint of sarcasm.
He was at the Norway party at a downtown Dallas bar the day before its first knockout match against Ivory Coast.
“All in all, I guess this will cost me $20,000,” he said, “but if you see this as an investment in life and celebration, it’s absolutely worth it.”
That has been the attitude of most fans who paid the price to see this; they either have the money, saved money for it, or are like so many of our governments these days and put it all on credit.
No one is saying this isn’t expensive. No one is saying they regret going.
The price of this World Cup is crushing
The moment FIFA announced the price points for the tickets to attend any of these World Cup matches, the responses ranged from rage to anger to resignation. FIFA’s mission is to “celebrate the beautiful game,” but in practice the governing body’s mission is to rake in obscene profits.
As of July 2, the cheapest ticket for the knockout match between Egypt and Australia scheduled for July 3 in Arlington is $664 on SeatGeek. But buying tickets on the secondary market sites that are not part of FIFA’s resale system is now loaded with horror stories of people paying for fraudulent seats.
If you want to buy a ticket for that same Australia/Egypt match on FIFA’s resale site, the cheapest ticket is $2,180.
“It has been one of the negatives for the entire event,” Michael Chatzitrifonos of Melbourne, Australia, said. He attended three matches with his longtime partner, Daniella Sigur. “FIFA always says this is a ‘game for the people,’ but they priced tickets to exclude the regular person who wants to watch a game. The price on the secondary market is outrageous.”
Throw in the necessary costs associated with travel — flights, hotels, food and ground transportation — a person is looking at thousands of dollars to attend a single match.
“I don’t regret paying it,” Chatzitrifonos said, “because it has been a wonderful experience.”
For most, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Unfortunately, such moments these days are coveted, and FIFA capitalized.
The draw of the World Cup party
Chatzitrifonos’ original plan was to attend two World Cup matches, but shortly after arriving in the U.S. he realized that he could do more.
“I’ve never been to a World Cup, and (soccer) is a big part of my background; Danielle and I both love the game,” he said. “We have loved the games, but it’s everything that is around the game that has even been better.”
They flew from Australia to Los Angeles, and then up to Santa Clara to watch the Aussies. There they were part of a pregame party that featured 20,000 fellow Aussies marching to the match against Paraguay.
Daniella has Croatian heritage, so they took a red-eye flight to Philadelphia. In downtown Philly, they partied with her fellow Croatians who overtook the city before that match against Ghana.
They had a few days remaining on their trip, so they added one more match: the knockout game between Norway and Ivory Coast at “Dallas Stadium” in Arlington.
“I am so glad we made that decision because it was an awesome environment to be around the Norwegians,” he said. “To watch these games live at the stadiums has been great, but to be in the streets, or in the bars, with all of these different people from these diverse communities has been incredible.”
That has been the overwhelming consensus among the fans who have either attended matches at the stadiums, or at the watch parties in cities all over North America.
It’s all been incredible. It just costs a fortune.
