The twenty third FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday in the Azteca Stadium, scene of the hand of God, Brazil’s annihilation of Italy in the 1970 Final and the place where Diego Maradona dragged a very average Argentina side across the line to lift the World Cup in 1986.
Mexico won the opening fixture with relative ease.
They swatted aside a poor South Africa side by two goals to nil, the first time Mexico has won an opening fixture in FIFA’s premier competition at a record eighth time of asking.
This World Cup has three co-host countries, with most of the action taking place in the USA; three-quarters of the 104 matches to be precise, including the Final in the Met Life Stadium, New Jersey which will take place on 19th July.
Being host nation brings with it hope and expectation, but for a country with more than 343 million people, you have to wonder why in the modern era, the USA’s best previous performance was that run to the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan (It remains to be seen whether the 4-1 victory against a poor Paraguay side will prove to be part of something more substantial and successful in this 2026 World Cup).
The answer lies less in a lack of talent and more in structural deficiencies. Whilst ‘soccer’ belongs to the people virtually everywhere across the globe, in the United States it is the preserve of the wealthy, and just like housing and healthcare, youth soccer across the pond has become prohibitively expensive.
When my lad played over here on Tyneside, and whilst admittedly I’m going back three or four years, monthly subscriptions were in the order of £15, not just a bargain but a valuable contribution to the fabric of the boys’ club he represented. There were discounts on offer for those who couldn’t afford it as well.
Contrast that with America. In the USA, the ‘pay-to-play’ model requires families to spend thousands of dollars annually on club fees, coaching and tournaments. Critics argue that this narrows the national talent pool because unlike the rest of the world, where kids learn to play for free in streets and parks, soccer is out of reach for many American kids, especially those from impoverished communities.
The direct effect this has isn’t difficult to imagine, but the knock-on ramifications are also very real; even for those fortunate enough to enrol, the system brings with it an overbearance on coaching, something that has a stifling effect on the type of creativity that comes from the freedom of playing in the streets.
Given this is America we’re talking about, this oughtn’t surprise us.
The provision of public goods without having to extract every last drop of profit is an alien concept to those holding office in the USA, whilst pricing out those on low and middle incomes is seen as par for the course.
The FIFA approach to World Cup ticket prices has been a disgrace and the authorities across the pond seemingly happy to go along with this.
Also, the USA doesn’t cap prices on the secondary/resale market, thereby allowing touts to charge ever more exorbitant prices.
Adding insult to injury, the cost of hotels and public transport also comes at a hugely inflated cost for those who have saved sufficient funds to attend matches.
FIFA have of course, embraced and exploited this, Gianni Infantino shamelessly awarding Donald Trump the recently concocted ‘peace’ prize when the World Cup draw took place in Washington DC, a matter of weeks before his invasion of Iran. Trump, no stranger to greed and who infamously legislated with a tax bill that disproportionately benefited the richest Americans during his first term in office, also applauded FIFA at the draw in DC for setting new records in ticket sales for the forthcoming tournament.
Until yesterday, I couldn’t tell you who was in England’s group, and as the tournament takes shape, my interest will no doubt increase, likely to peak at the point where England make their glorious exit. I’m not sure it’s my advancing years that hasn’t got me reaching for a Wall Chart to plot England’s eventual demise, it’s probably more to do with where the tournament is being held and how FIFA under Gianni Infantino have approached these 2026 World Cup finals.