In 2026, the FIFA World Cup will take North America by storm. With 104 matches played across 16 host cities in Mexico, Canada, and the USA, there’s ample opportunity to catch your favorite teams live. Best of all, you don’t have to spend a fortune for the experience. Check out these little-known saving strategies for claiming a stadium seat while limiting your FIFA travel costs.

Target Commuter Towns Just Outside City Centers

Some host cities in the USA have massive public transportation systems that travel into nearby cities. For instance, if you want to attend a match at Seattle’s Lumen Field, you can book your lodging in nearby Des Moines, SeaTac, or Federal Way. The region’s Link light rail will take you within a five-minute walk of the stadium’s entrance. Booking hotels, motels, or vacation rentals in small, nearby commuter towns is much cheaper than staying in downtown areas.

You can use this same strategy when purchasing tickets for games to San Francisco’s Levi’s Stadium or Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta’s MARTA will deliver travelers within walking distance of its stadium, and San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will bring fans a short car ride away from Levi’s Stadium. You can use ridesharing services, rent an eBike, or book a shuttle to cover the remaining distance.

The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has a free shuttle that departs from the LAX/Metro Transit Center (MTC) Station for service to major stadium events. Connecting buses from nearby Inglewood and Hawthorne will take you to the MTC.

Book Flights With Long, Overnight Layovers

When you have long distances to travel but limited cash, you can always book flights with long, overnight layovers. Though far from pleasant, these long-duration trips often cost far less than direct flights.

Embrace Public Transit

The cost of parking at a FIFA match can prove just as extravagant as your match ticket. On average, most official FIFA parking passes cost between $75 and $175 per vehicle, per day. In some locations and for some matches, the price of parking passes has already risen as high as $600. When paired with the costs of renting a vehicle and fueling it up, public transportation becomes the most cost-effective choice.

Before purchasing a ticket for a match in any host city, explore its public transit options. Even if you aren’t staying in a nearby commuter town, knowing key bus routes will help you navigate the city cheaply.

This research will also help you avoid stadiums that aren’t pedestrian-friendly. Due to massive parking lots and busy, nearby freeways, the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, New York/New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington/Dallas are drive-in only. If you choose to attend games at any of these venues, you’ll need to rent a car, pay for ridesharing, or book a shuttle.

Go for eBikes

eBike rentals are a frequently overlooked option in local transportation. Environmentally forward cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and Los Angeles have multiple e-bike rental services available. Lumen Field, SoFi Stadium, and Levi’s Stadium have free bike racks and bike corrals. Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium has a totally free bike valet service.

Visit the FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace

Don’t buy your tickets from unauthorized third parties. FIFA is using completely digital ticketing and ticket verification at all 16 of its venues. Buy all original-issue tickets at www.fifa.com. For resold tickets, use the FIFA Resale/Exchange Marketplace to avoid scams. This is the only way to ensure the validity of your tickets for every game. FIFA will void all tickets from unauthorized parties at the gate, even if they were valid at the time of initial issue.

In general, buying tickets on the FIFA Reseller Marketplace is more expensive than buying them brand-new. FIFA charges a 15% purchase fee to buyers on top of the listed prices of tickets. More importantly, resellers are in the marketplace to make profits. However, although you’ll find the highest ticket prices for Category 1 and 2 tickets, the marketplace is often the only place to save money on Category 3 and 4 tickets. If you can’t find new Category 3 and 4 tickets to match your budget, purchasing from authorized resellers is worth a try.

Ditch Flights and Take the Train

Airline tickets represent a considerable part of multi-country FIFA travel costs. Fortunately, you can fly into North America to reach your first destination country, and then you can use alternative travel types. In conjunction with their parent company FlixBus, Greyhound offers FIFA travel to and from Mexico and Canada for FIFA matches. You can even catch Amtrak trains to and from Canada’s host cities, Vancouver and Toronto.

Pack Light and Get an eSIM

Pack light. Whether traveling by train, bus, or plane, you’ll pay more for stored luggage, but you may get a carry-on for free. Another easy way to limit your multi-country FIFA travel costs is by activating an e-SIM. e-SIMs are digital SIM cards that work in multiple countries. They eliminate the need to purchase several physical SIMs when moving between destinations.

Maximize Your Rewards

Take advantage of all your credit card, hotel, and rental car rewards. If you haven’t signed up for rewards programs, activate them now. The purchases that you make at the beginning of your trip could fund the purchases that you make just before returning home. Visa, Chase, and Verizon currently have amazing rewards for FIFA fans.

Go for Low-Priced Seats and Official FIFA Fan Experiences

FIFA is using dynamic pricing for both match tickets and official parking passes. Whenever demand rises, prices rise as well. As the tournament’s opening draws near, the chance to grab a ticket to a group-stage game for less than $200 is quickly fading. Fortunately, there are still a few matches that haven’t sold completely out, and there are still options in tickets that won’t empty your bank account.

As of mid-May, fans can grab tickets to Houston’s June 26 match between Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia for less than $160. Fans can get tickets to Monterrey Stadium for under $300 to watch the June 24 match between South Africa and South Korea or the June 20 match between Tunisia and Japan. There are even seats to the Jordan vs. Algeria match at Levi’s Stadium for less than $200. But ticket prices are rising by the hour, so grab yours now.

Choosing low-priced seats rather than targeting your favorite team’s group-stage games will allow you to experience the thrills of a live match. After you’ve watched your game, you can stick around for official FIFA Fan Festivals. Throughout nearly all host cities, these free events include ongoing watch parties via ultra-large screens, multiple options in local cuisine, and live musical entertainment.