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Normally, when I buy tickets for a sporting event or a concert, I know right away where I’ll be sitting.
The difference between, say, a $40 seat for a Kansas City Royals game and an $80 ticket or a $120 ticket is the difference between watching from the nosebleeds as indistinguishable figures run around the bases, and seeing the actual curve of the baseball as it hits the catcher’s mitt. More money gets you closer to the action, or a more favorable angle, or both.
This isn’t a particularly controversial concept. Unless you’re FIFA, apparently.
Under the frustratingly opaque, multi-phase lottery system to buy 2026 World Cup tickets, fans bid for seats simply by price level without knowing where, precisely, they would sit (and, early on, without even knowing which teams were playing). Those price levels had vast gulfs between them — a difference of hundreds of dollars between the cheapest and second-cheapest options.
FIFA eventually published general stadium configurations with color-coded sections. But those maps offered as much help navigating a stadium of 67,000 people as telling attendees that Arrowhead Stadium is “somewhere in the Midwest.”
So many World Cup ticket holders were unpleasantly surprised this month when FIFA finally assigned precise section-and-row numbers to their already-purchased tickets. Because fans who paid thousands thinking that they’d secured a prime viewing location ended up, instead, shunted off to the side and back.
This is how my personal ticket-buying experience shook out as well. After several failed efforts to enter FIFA’s lotteries, I managed to snag three “Category 1” seats for the Ecuador vs. Curaçao game in Kansas City (at the second-cheapest level available, hoping that it would make me more likely to get chosen in the lottery).
Only last week did I discover where FIFA decided to sit us: in the lower levels closer to the field (yay!), immediately behind the southeast goal (yikes!).
As anyone who’s watched a soccer match before knows, that particular placement will effectively block me from viewing the majority of the action. I’ll just have to hope for some particularly bad defense on my side of the field, so we can see plenty of shots on net.
It turns out that FIFA secretly changed its own stadium maps, reserving the most favorable, middle-of-the-pitch seats for the most expensive hospitality packages — such as the “VIP” section ($2,850 per ticket for that Ecuador vs. Curaçao match) or the “Pitchside Lounge” ($3,350).
That’s not all. Over the last few months, FIFA also hiked ticket prices for nearly every single World Cup match.
For example, tickets to the Ecuador vs. Curaçao match increased by 22% since the first release last fall. FIFA’s “dynamic pricing” meant that games with big-name competitors spiked even higher — a single Category 1 ticket to Kansas City’s Argentina vs. Algeria match now costs $765, an 87% increase.
I reached out to KC2026, the local organizing committee, to ask what complaints they’d heard about ticket prices or seating at Kansas City matches. The organization responded that it has “no oversight or influence” over FIFA ticketing strategies, and pointed out that Kansas City’s FIFA Fan Festival remains free — which isn’t the case in most cities.
So I want to hear from you, readers. Did you buy tickets to a World Cup match in Kansas City? Did your World Cup seat assignments end up where you hoped? Or are you stuck with a view you don’t think is worth the price paid?
I’d love to hear from you no matter what. Email me at gabe@kcur.org!
Trump’s travel restrictions will hit World Cup attendees — and players too
President Donald Trump’s reissued travel ban and new visa entry bond system threatens to hurt World Cup turnout, especially in Kansas City, where several affected countries are set to play and stay during the tournament.
The Trump administration’s travel ban heavily restricts people from dozens of countries from visiting the U.S. In addition, the Trump administration is piloting a system requiring visitors from 50 countries to pay a bond of up to $15,000 per person to enter the U.S.
“This is essentially a security fee for us, in layman's terms,” said U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson Mignon Houston in an interview with KCUR’s Up To Date.
Algeria and Tunisia, which are subject to the visa entry bond, are both scheduled to play matches in Kansas City. Algeria’s men’s national team will also make its base camp in Lawrence, Kansas. All of those players, coaches and staff will have to pay up in order to enter the country.
“We recognize that recent visa policies may create questions for some international fans, including those traveling from Tunisia and Algeria,” a KC2026 spokesperson said in a statement to KCUR. “It’s important to us that the World Cup remains a truly global and welcoming event.”
KCUR’s Up To Date also asked Mayor Quinton Lucas about the Trump administration’s travel restrictions. He called it “an embarrassment."
"We are not working to try to find ways to make people either feel unwelcome or to get them kicked out of this country," Lucas said. "And we're going to do all that we can, from my position as mayor and everyone else in the city, to say that Kansas City is open and welcome for you."
Missouri activates National Guard troops for World Cup in Kansas City, now 2 months away
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order Monday that officially puts an emergency operations plan into effect for the World Cup, sending 110 Missouri National Guard members to Kansas City and allowing easier coordination between local jurisdictions.
Law enforcement will rotate throughout Kansas City’s events to help with crowd management, rapid incident response and surveillance, among other things.
The FBI will also be deploying “counter drone work,” according to co-deputy director (and former Missouri attorney general) Andrew Bailey.
Read more from KCUR’s Kowthar Shire.
What it really takes to get to Kansas City’s airport without a car
For the upcoming tournament, KC2026 is setting up routes to Kansas City’s airport that run every 15 minutes between the terminal and downtown — for free.
It’s a key part of the enormous transportation strategy that Kansas City will roll out to connect disparate parts of the metro to the FIFA Fan Festival, key attractions and entertainment districts, transit hubs and more.
Visitors desperately need those shuttles — because Kansas City’s normal transit options to the airport are virtually nonexistent. We know this personally, because KCUR news director Madeline Fox frequently rides that single, slow route.
She shared her experiences taking the bus to the airport in a recent article. The question remains: Will the World Cup push Kansas City to invest in better transportation options for the long term?
Kickin’ the ball around
- Fan Fest time: You can now register for tickets to Kansas City’s FIFA Fan Festival. The majority are free and general admission, but there are some premium options available. (KCUR)
- Who will be performing? Look out for an announcement soon about the Fan Festival’s entertainment lineup. KC2026’s Instagram posted a teaser image with some apparent clues, but it’s got me stumped. (KC2026)
- Home sweet home: We now know where the four national teams based around Kansas City will be staying this summer. Team Argentina will be at the Origin Hotel Kansas City; Team Netherlands at the Cascade Hotel near the Plaza; Team England at the Inn at Meadowbrook in Prairie Village; and Team Algeria at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence. (The Kansas City Star)
- ICE raid pause: FIFA officials are talking with president Gianni Infantino about making a direct request to President Donald Trump, with whom Infantino is very cozy, for a promise to not conduct immigration raids across the United States during the entire 39-day tournament. (The Athletic)
- Speaking of high costs: New Jersey will charge $100 for rail tickets from NYC’s Penn Station to MetLife Stadium for World Cup games, a seven-fold increase from its usual price. In Boston, a train ticket to Gillette Stadium will cost you $80, while a bus is $95. (WBUR)
- What about Kansas City’s transit prices? According to a KC2026 spokesperson, Kansas City will be charging a lot less for its transit options than those East Coast cities. The direct shuttle from the Fan Festival and four park-and-ride locations will cost $15 per person, round-trip. The "regional direct" routes connecting the festival to hubs across the metro will cost $5 for an unlimited day pass, $25 for a week, and $50 for the whole tournament.
- Party with Sporting: A whole 100 days of festivities are planned as part of “Soccer Capital Summer,” including live viewing parties at Sporting Park that can accommodate up to 10,000 fans. (Sporting KC)
- 18th & Vine wants in: Kansas City’s historic Jazz District will launch its own monthlong “activation” with match viewings, live music performances, food trucks and more. Open construction around the neighborhood may get in the way, though. (The Kansas City Star)
- Hot tips: Kansas City restaurants should consider adding a 20% automatic gratuity to checks this summer, according to the Missouri Restaurant Association, because many international visitors aren’t accustomed to American tipping culture. (Axios)
- Big time refereeing: Kansas City native Kyle Atkins is one of just eight Americans selected to help officiate the 2026 World Cup. This isn’t his first rodeo — it’s his second World Cup, and he’s also officiated at a summer Olympics before (KCTV)
- Shop local: Got a business you want to showcase during the World Cup? Apply for a spot in Kansas City’s local biz marketplace inside Union Station, just down the streetcar line from the Fan Festival. Organizers are also looking for artists and performers to participate and show off the best KC has to offer. (Starland News)
