Africa: FIFA Promised a World Cup Economic Boom, but U.S. Stands May Be Emptier Than Usual

Travel bans, visa denials, safety fears, and record-high ticket prices are suppressing World Cup attendance--and threatening both FIFA's promised $40 billion windfall and a U.S. tourism industry that was already struggling before the opening whistle.

Ahead of kickoff, the 2026 men's World Cup is beset with a slew of travel restrictions affecting entry to the United States, which will host 78 out of 104 total matches. Fans from some countries are facing an outright ban on travel to the United States, while others will have to jump through multiple hoops to get inside the country. The challenges facing spectators who want to watch their home countries compete is indicating a lower turnout and a smaller economic return than FIFA, the global soccer body, and this year's hosts initially boasted. Early reports from the tourism sector are already showing signs of lackluster attendance.

"The truth is that even before the cup, many travelers had expressed reservations about travel to the United States," CFR expert Ebenezer Obadare said.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

FIFA previously estimated the tournament would attract more than five million fans across the three countries, while the State Department more recently put that number at ten million visitors to the United States alone. Total expenditures (considering hosts, FIFA officials, investors, and fans) will likely top $13.9 billion, FIFA estimated. The organization also predicted [PDF] the tournament would bring in $40 billion in revenue and create more than eight hundred thousand jobs across the three cohosts.

But as the first teams take to the field today, several stadiums are on track to have empty seats. The opening matches in the United States and Canada were not sold out on the official platform as of Monday, and across the opening group phase of the tournament, the resale portal still had 176,000 unsold tickets, according to the Financial Times--adding to concerns that the expected payout won't fully materialize.

"We can't wait to welcome soccer fans from all over the globe," the U.S. State Department's website reads, quoting President Donald Trump. However, the White House rules on who can come in vary widely depending on travelers' country of origin. At least four competing countries--Haiti, Iran, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal--are subject to a full travel ban (which affects tourists but not players), and a handful of others must undergo heightened screening to enter the country.

The predicament is drawing a range of reactions from nationals of these countries, and has even incited calls for a boycott of the tournament. "[The Trump administration's] gone too far," Senegalese fan Singom Dadji Ngam told DW in January, shortly after the expanded ban was announced in December. "We don't need America," he added, referencing the administration's claims of high visa overstays. "We're not going to stay there."

Haiti's qualification, its first in more than fifty years, is a historic moment for the country, allowing fans to find immense pride and national unity in a moment of intense inner turmoil. Iran's matches, too, come at a turbulent time, as the ongoing war and broad opposition to the Iranian government still fester. The attendance challenges are disappointing to both fans and players.

Nationals from other countries, including Canada and Germany, have said that they're also avoiding the U.S.-based games over similar fears of being targeted by immigration agents.

FIFA also revoked Iran's ticket allocations two days before the tournament's opening date, taking away the 8 percent of tickets each federation is entitled to distribute. The Iranian soccer body claimed the move showed how the United States has "taken steps to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums."

Fans from countries not on the Trump administration's travel ban list have experienced difficulties, too. The BBC reported in May that several Ghanaian spectators hoping to see their team play in Boston and Philadelphia were denied visas. Members of the diaspora of banned countries--who feel it is important to represent the community that is legally barred from attending--find themselves confronted with concerns over safety and high costs.

No matter what country fans are from, they'll need deep pockets to attend. The tickets for this year's World Cup are the most expensive of any previous tournament, with many in the thousands of dollars--one front-row seat sold for $32,000. FIFA has been heavily criticized and even investigated for its pricing scheme, which hasn't budged despite a lag in market value, the New York Times reported. And that doesn't include the added costs of attendance for travelers, such as lodging, parking, and transportation--several of which have hiked in price due to high demand. Business Insider estimates that fans could easily be spending $30,000 to see their teams play throughout the tournament.

Even Trump, on learning how much seats were going for, remarked that "I wouldn't pay it either."

What does all this mean for the host countries?

Given high costs and concerns over spectator security, the U.S. hospitality industry has not seen the boom in business that FIFA hinted would come. An April 2026 report [PDF] by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) found that 80 percent of hotels in the eleven U.S. host cities have reported their bookings are under what was forecast, citing the visa troubles and tense geopolitical climate as direct deterrents for their clientele. The AHLA described the cup as a "non-event," saying that "indicators suggest the anticipated economic lift may fall short of expectations." Meanwhile, hotels in Canadian and Mexican host cities are outpacing their U.S. counterparts in terms of scoring bookings.

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy.

To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.

There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Across all three host countries, analysts expect a modest bump in tourism spending in places such as restaurants and bars, but that it'll be an ephemeral gain, and it won't be evenly spread. Analysis by the Bank of Montreal puts the United States, which is hosting three-quarters of the matches, at seeing four-fifths of the fan spending, with Mexico getting just over one-tenth and Canada just under that figure.

Analysts don't expect the cup can pull the United States out of its current tourism slump. The country experienced its biggest drop in foreign tourists last year (at 5.5 percent, totaling $8 billion in revenue) since the 2008 recession, with foreign travelers citing presidential rhetoric under the second Trump administration as a significant driver for staying away.

That lack of global fans in the stands could be felt on the field, CFR's Obadare echoed. "It's one thing to have a hundred people in one corner of the stadium rooting for you. It's another thing to have five thousand. That's a significant disparity," he said. "It's going to play a role, definitely."

Whether watching from home or in the stands, however, the games are supposed to be about putting politics aside for entertainment and national pride, Obadare said, and fans are likely to do just that. "The geopolitical tensions will always be bubbling under the surface, but I think that people will go ahead and enjoy themselves."

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.