New Jersey residents should be quite hyped up. The 2026 World Cup will have eight matches played in their area, at MetLife Stadium. That includes the championship game, which should be quite exciting. But what do we know about the agreement to host these games? We know that the State of New Jersey “partnered with New York City in a joint bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup”.
But that is where it ends, which is quite remarkable considering the importance and size of the event. In the past few weeks, several New Jersey officials have told the media that any “costs would be split with New York City”. Where can I see this in writing?
“There is still no formal agreement in place and no official estimate of what bringing the tournament to the state will cost” — NorthJersey.com, 11/22/24
Ok, but the New Jersey host committee has publicly stated that the “vast majority of costs associated with the FIFA World Cup will be paid for through private and corporate sources through fundraising managed by the host committee”. Then why is it that the public still can’t see any projected or estimated costs for these matches?
This is intentional. This is how FIFA operates. They do not want the public involved in anything apart from going to the matches and watching it on TV. This is why host cities do not tell their residents beforehand about the many millions that will be spent on upgrading their venues or enriching FIFA members who are attending the games. No wonder I see Vancouver media writing stories about the lack of clarity on expenses. For example, CTV did a story titled: “Latest costs for FIFA World Cup in Vancouver hidden by non-disclosure agreements”.
Consequently, I shouldn’t be shocked when one day, I see New Jersey giving $25 million dollars of taxpayer money to upgrade MetLife for the World Cup. With zero public notice or involvement. Don’t forget about the additional $17 million dollars of taxpayer money that will also be flowing to MetLife Stadium for even more vague upgrades.
In April of this year, there were calls on the State of New Jersey and its Governor to finally “share details about the agreements and investments New Jersey agreed to host World Cup soccer matches in 2026”. Isn’t it odd that a member of the New Jersey Senate Budget Committee currently knows nothing about this? Not only him, but the chairman of the state budget committee, who represents the area in which the games will be played, also asked for clarification.
Even though the state and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority signed a contract in 2018 with FIFA, it was only until recently that several documents were released showing that FIFA was forcing cities to require free transportation. This came as a “shock” to almost everyone and drew such a harsh response that FIFA backed down from this requirement. See why they don’t want the entire list of requirements released?
One person, named Alex Ambrose of New Jersey Policy Perspective, asked a very interesting question. If the State of New Jersey continues claiming that the World Cup will bring huge economic benefits, “then it shouldn’t hurt the state at all to be more transparent about these costs”.
Not to worry, though, as the World Cup is expected to “generate over $2 billion in economic impact”. No wait, the Governor of New Jersey is now saying that the $2 billion number is “dramatically understated”. When will this insane awesomeness ever stop?
Wait, where did everyone get their numbers from?
“The costs, projected or actual, for the eight matches — including the final on July 19, 2026 — and all of the other fan experiences that come with hosting the World Cup have not been made public for this area” — NorthJersey.com, 04/17/24
So we have no idea where the numbers came from. Ok, well, it isn’t like any city has ever been wrong with their prior estimates, right? Toronto made it a PR campaign that the World Cup would bring them billions in economic glory while only costing the city between $30 million to $45 million.
Today, that number is even less! Oh, it isn’t. Toronto is now expecting the World Cup to cost them almost $400 million in taxpayer dollars?