New Jersey governor blasts FIFA over $100 World Cup train fares

A family of four could pay more than $400 for a round-trip train ride to a World Cup match at MetLife Stadium, turning a trip marketed as a global showcase into a test of how much fans will absorb for it.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has put FIFA at the center of the dispute, saying the soccer body is contributing $0 toward transportation while NJ Transit is left with a $48 million bill to safely move about 40,000 fans per match. The state is weighing a fare of more than $100 for a round-trip ticket between New York Penn Station and East Rutherford, far above the usual $12.90 return fare on that route.

MetLife Stadium is scheduled to host eight World Cup matches, including the final on 19 July, and the higher fare would apply to all of them if approved. Reports say no concession pricing is planned, meaning children and seniors would pay the same full fare as other riders. NJ Transit has not made a final decision, but the proposal has already exposed the tension between the tournament’s promise of easy access and the reality of moving tens of thousands of spectators on a public rail system.

Sherrill has argued that New Jersey commuters should not be left covering the cost for years and that FIFA should pay for the rides instead. FIFA said it was surprised by her comments and pointed to the original 2018 host-city agreements, which it says required free transportation for fans to all matches. The clash is over more than one fare table. It goes to the question of who should finance the infrastructure that makes a mega-event possible.

The backlash has reached beyond New Jersey. New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the price "awfully high" and said such a charge would not happen on the MTA. Her criticism underscores how the cost of attending the tournament is quickly becoming a regional political issue, not just a transit dispute.

Similar sticker shock is also emerging in Massachusetts, where Boston-area travel to matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough has reportedly been set at $80 by train and up to $95 by bus. FIFA will also use a neutral venue name for the New Jersey site, calling MetLife Stadium the New York/New Jersey Stadium during the tournament. For fans, the branding may change, but the arithmetic is already clear: the cheapest seat in the house may still come with a transit bill that rivals the ticket itself.