Socceroos fan Les Street with a Mooroolbark/Australia flag he is taking to the 2026 World Cup. Photograph: Les Street
$6,000 on tickets, a dodgy hostel and a seaplane: my Socceroos World Cup odyssey is about to begin
Les Street
I have followed the Socceroos at three World Cups but this one is different, and the usual anticipation is tempered by feelings of dread and uncertainty.
Knowing so many others will never have the opportunity, attending a World Cup is a privilege. I have been to three previous editions, yet ahead of the 2026 tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada, the usual anticipation is tempered by a feeling of dread and of not knowing what to expect. More than ever, these finals will extract every nickel and dime out of the attendee. Dynamic pricing and the drip feeding of match tickets to create an artificial scarcity has rightly been cause for complaints. But despite protestations, those of us who are attending are all willing participants to Fifa’s late-stage capitalism.
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Football Australia also got in on the act with their controversial FA+ membership. At A$99 for the chance to secure a World Cup ticket from their participating member allocation but with no guarantee of success, most fans would have baulked if not for being drawn alongside the host nation USA, who are sure to attract huge interest. But Fomo is real and I too signed up sensing diminished opportunities.
My failure to secure tickets in the earlier ballot was tough to accept, but predictable. Automatically disqualified from the various sponsor pre-sales, I had no confidence of success among the avalanche of applications.
Going into the first sales window held after the draw I had no expectations. I dissociate when it comes to Fifa ticketing, but the application went smoothly, aside from the usual long wait time. The relief upon seeing the “successful/partially successful” email from Fifa was palpable. Eventually I gained a mix of tickets through the Fifa and FA ballots. The latter included the $84 tickets that were made available to national associations following a global fan backlash, albeit for a conditional round of 32 fixture.
I also secured tickets to a New Zealand match and a round of 16 contest at the famed Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, a bucket list item for the stadium aficionado. This was my most expensive outlay, $1,235 for a category 1 ticket, only to find myself halfway up the top level and behind a goal. A spur of the moment purchase in one of Fifa’s never-ending last-minute sale phases netted an extra match in Seattle, unbelievably. In total it cost $5,829 for 15 tickets. Some will be on sold to friends who missed out. If Australia get eliminated early, I will get a refund – minus Fifa’s cut of course.
The stadium in Seattle, where the Socceroos will play host nation USA. Photograph: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images
My search for accommodation began the moment Australia were drawn in Group D. Stays in Vancouver and Seattle were already eye-wateringly expensive, upwards of $1,000 a night. Knowing the demand for the USA match, I booked an overpriced backpackers near the stadium even though I have well crossed the age and comfort bar for lodging in hostel dormitories. For Vancouver, I played 4D chess and discovered a stay not found on booking search engines at a university campus for cost price.
All my app chats were hoping for at least one game in Mexico. The holy grail was Group A – the only group with games to be played exclusively in Mexico – but that spot ended up going to South Korea. A desire to head to Mexico was largely based on footballing reasons – the pura vida of experiencing a World Cup in a genuine football country. For me, the outbreak of cartel violence had no real impact on that. Canada was also favoured.
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Stadiums in the US, often far from their purported location, do no favours for the average fan and we have seen price gouging for public transport and on-site parking. But Socceroos supporters came out winners with their all-west coast group stage fixtures. The stadiums in Vancouver and Seattle are walkable from downtown while Santa Clara is accessible by light rail from San Jose, the nearest major city. The close proximity of Vancouver and Seattle enables me to travel overland by Amtrak. For something scenic and totally different, I will fly by seaplane on one of my trips back to Seattle as I have tickets to four matches in the Pacific north-west.
I always plan for Australia to finish as group runners-up. This means a game in Arlington – the largest city in the US without public transport. If they finish in one of best third-placed spots, fans are in for a lottery as to their next destination. Determining this formula is a bigger mystery than knowing the band members of TISM. Whether it is quackery or mathematical genius, I read that the Socceroos have a better probability of playing in Foxborough in the country’s north-east. A refundable hotel booking has been made for nearby Providence which is closer to the stadium, and Boston is well beyond my price point. The downside? Trains from Providence to Foxborough ran for Taylor Swift but will not for the World Cup.
As I boycotted Qatar, a decision I would come to regret, there was no chance of missing out in 2026 – even if it sent me to the wall financially. For a football tragic, staying home last time around was just too painful. However, an unfortunate, but necessary, 11th hour schedule change meant missing out on the Mexico and Switzerland warm-up friendlies. Being among 70,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the stadium where Roberto Baggio missed that penalty, would have been a highlight. Inspired by England supporter flags that often show smaller teams, I got an Australian version made up for Mooroolbark, the member federation club I support. And if you know your history, that is another story in itself.
