NPR: Soccer Fans Globally Sitting Out 2026 World Cup Over Ticket Prices and US Immigration Enforcement

NPR published a major report on April 30 documenting why international soccer fans are opting out of attending the 2026 World Cup in the United States despite the tournament's historic scale. The report cited three converging deterrents: (1) ticket prices — with average resale prices far exceeding the Qatar 2022 tournament and the cheapest group-stage tickets on secondary markets approaching four figures — creating affordability barriers even for fans from wealthy nations; (2) US immigration enforcement — with 39 countries under travel restrictions and widespread anxiety among fans from Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa about ICE operations near tournament venues; and (3) hotel market instability — with host cities reporting lower-than-expected hotel bookings and FIFA having cancelled large blocks of hotel room reservations in some host cities. The report quoted individual fans from Mexico, Brazil, and Nigeria who had intended to attend but decided against it. Sky Sports' live World Cup update blog also noted the attendance concern was a consistent topic at the Vancouver Congress. The NPR report added quantitative texture to what HRW, Amnesty International, and the ACLU had warned about in their spring 2026 reports — that the combination of US immigration policy and FIFA's pricing model risked stripping the tournament of its authentic supporter atmosphere.