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By Alice Gibbs
Senior Reporter
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International fans were warned the 2026 World Cup could be expensive. Now, some say even the beer is costing more than expected.
Supporters traveling to matches across the U.S., Canada and Mexico are reporting drink prices of more than $20 inside stadiums, adding to concerns about the overall cost of attending the tournament.
“It's unfair. It's not right. It's wrong,” Thomas Schüller, a German engineer attending a match in Toronto, told The Associated Press after paying CA$24.25—around $17—for a beer. “It's three times the cost of what I pay in my country.”
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A Newsweek review of concession prices across multiple World Cup venues found significant variation, with beers ranging from $8 in some stadiums to around $21.50 in others, depending on location and operator.
For many traveling supporters, the issue is not just the price of one drink, but the cumulative cost of a matchday once food, transport and accommodation are taken into account. What might once have felt like a once-in-a-lifetime soccer trip is, for some, starting to feel like a premium event with premium pricing.
Though the picture is not entirely one-sided. While some visiting fans have expressed shock at stadium prices, others have suggested the cost is in line with what they would expect at major sporting events in North America. In one widely shared social media post from Levi’s Stadium in California, a fan reacted to paying $23 for a beer but added that it was “a pint and a half,” concluding: “So maybe an OK price?”
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What the Price Analysis Shows
Unlike previous tournaments, there is no single global concession price list at this World Cup.
FIFA said prices are not being set through a centralized model, but instead through the existing food and beverage operators already working at each venue. That means the cost of a beer, soft drink or meal can vary widely depending on the host stadium and its local pricing structure.
“Contrary to previous FIFA World Cups, where a central concessionaire model was in place, FIFA has retained the existing concession operators at each FIFA World Cup 2026 venue,” a FIFA spokesperson told Newsweek. “Food and beverage pricing at FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums is expected to be broadly in line with pricing at regular events held at each respective venue. As a result, prices may vary between venues.”
Newsweek has contacted several host venues and Sodexo Live—one of the companies operating concessions at World Cup stadiums—for comment on pricing.
That model helps explain why the same tournament can offer markedly different matchday experiences depending on where fans are seated. At Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, long known for low concession prices under owner Arthur Blank, beer can cost as little as $8, with staples such as pizza and burgers priced only a few dollars higher. In a tournament where many fans have already spent heavily on travel and tickets, that kind of pricing has stood out as a relative bright spot.
Elsewhere, prices have been much steeper. In Vancouver, fans have reported paying around $14 for a beer. In Mexico City, some drinks have been priced at levels close to the city’s daily minimum wage of around $18, highlighting the gap between local earnings and event-day prices. And in parts of the United States, beers priced above $20 have emerged as one of the more visible symbols of the tournament’s wider affordability problem.
Online, that contrast has helped fuel a steady stream of reaction. Fans have shared photos of receipts, menus and drinks from different venues, often comparing one city against another and describing prices as “madness,” “frightening” or simply far beyond what they would usually pay to watch soccer.
For North American Fans, the Prices Are Less Surprising
For many fans in the United States, the prices are less of a shock.
High concession costs are a routine part of the American sports experience, particularly at NFL games, major college events and other large-scale stadium spectacles where food and drink are a major source of revenue. In that context, a $15 to $20 beer is not necessarily unusual. Online, many said the prices were "standard" for a stadium.
But for international visitors, especially those traveling from Europe or Latin America, stadium prices can feel detached from what they associate with soccer culture. In much of Europe, beers at domestic matches often cost closer to $5 or $6, meaning some World Cup prices are three to four times higher.
That broader context matters because concerns about concession prices are landing against an already sensitive backdrop. FIFA has faced scrutiny over ticket costs, while host cities have also had to contend with complaints over hotel pricing, travel expense and the overall cost of attending matches. For families, groups and supporters following their teams across multiple cities, those expenses can add up quickly.
The result is that beer prices—while minor in isolation—have come to represent something larger. They are a visible, instantly understandable sign of how expensive the tournament can feel on the ground, particularly for overseas supporters who have already paid heavily to get there.
Still, the backlash has not turned into a boycott. Fans continue to buy, stadiums remain full, and for many the chance to watch a World Cup in person still outweighs the frustration of paying more than they expected for food and drink.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Emma Lee-Sang.
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