Before the start of World of the FIFA 2026the Mexican fans have experienced discouragement due to the fever world cupas a consequence of the few matches that will be played in the country, the high cost of tickets and the problems of mobility for the works cosmeticization in the host cities.

In interview with THE UNIVERSALMonika Streule, professor and researcher in the postgraduate program in Social Anthropology at the Universidad Iberoamericana, maintained that, compared to the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, this time only 13 matches will be played in the country, which has reduced the World Cup fever both in the Mexico City as in Guadalajara and Monterey.

According to Streule, another reason that has motivated the discouragement is the inaccessibility of Mexican fans to the games that will be played in Mexico due to the high costs of tickets, which are dynamic, that is, the greater the demand, the higher the price. price“which for many people would be a greater expense and they are thinking about it carefully.”

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He explained that another reason is citizen dissatisfaction with the World Cup, due to the mobility problems that have generated the jobs of cosmeticization in the host cities, “because there are a lot of works for the World Cup and that has complicated people’s daily mobility for months. You put up with all this inconvenience and in the end you are not even invited to the party.”

Additionally, he explained that the discouragement has worsened because, unlike other editions, the matches will not be broadcast on open television, but rather the amateurs they must hire platforms streaming to view them, which means an additional expense. For the specialist, the fair will also relegate social problems, such as the crisis of missing persons or violence that the country is going through, “because for some people that doesn’t matter. For them it is still a dream to see a game of the Mexican National Team at the Azteca Stadium, but there are many other priorities.”

From his perspective, the Cup has disconnected from the soccer and the fans, “because they have put a profit model above the great emotion that soccer generates. Who puts the emotion in a game, a stadium? They are not the ones who pay a lot for a ticket, rather it is the fans. They provide the enthusiasm, because in the end these games are a collective experience of great emotion and it is not an event that you can only sell.”

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The demonstrations have increased days before the World Cup opening. Photo: EL UNIVERSAL ARCHIVE

Furthermore, he criticized its production in the midst of the current context that the world is going through, such as armed conflicts in Middle East or the recent ones epidemiological outbreaks reported in Republic of Congo“well perhaps now FIFA has gone too far with that World Cup model in three countries that in the contemporary context it is difficult to see anything positive.

“For example, in USA The situation is very complicated, because it is not a soccer nation like Mexico is, those who bring emotion or life to soccer are the migrants and they can’t go see him either, because it has already been announced that the ICE It’s going to be in the stadiums,” he said.

Roger Magazine Nemhauser, director of the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Ibero, agreed that one of the most compelling reasons for the lackluster World Cup fever is the costs of tickets, “because reports indicate that it is the most expensive World Cup in history and tickets in Mexico have been particularly expensive. Obviously the purchasing capabilities for the general public in Mexico do not have the same level as in the United States.”

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Magazine Nemhauser agreed that, in recent years, the World Cup has become more of a business than a party, and that “although FIFA manages to fill stadiums and it has not reached a point of complete rejection, it feels like there is more and more discontent with it.”

“Businesses have a logic of winning and growing. Today there is no one to regulate FIFA and that has meant a great growth in prices and that is why the fans, the people, feel more distant.”

For him, the social problems and mobility, the inaccessibility of tickets and streaming platforms to view the matches, as well as the well-known performance of the Mexican National Team, have caused a lack of interest that has been largely present in this edition.

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He considered that Mexico, the United States and Canada have made an effort to show a “positive face” to host the World Cup in the midst of the crises that each country is going through; However, he assured that “during the World Cup we forgot for a month all the international problems. “It helps us believe that we live in a world of autonomous and peaceful nations.”

In that vein, he pointed out that the social challenges faced by various sectors of society in each venue take a backseat once the World Cup starts, “because it is one of its implicit or secondary functions: to make us forget our problems for a while.” However, he acknowledged that the World Cup has served as a platform to make them visible and admitted that the tone of this edition of the Cup has become more negative compared to previous ones, so he called for a reflection to understand where one of the greatest sporting events is headed.

For his part, José Antonio García Rodríguez, former president of the Atlanteanconsidered that in this edition the World Cup enthusiasm has not emerged unanimously as in 1970 or 1986, because the World Cup is no longer a popular festival, but has become an elitist sporting event due to the high ticket prices.

The high cost of tickets and the privatization of match broadcasting reduce excitement. Photo: EL UNIVERSAL Archive

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“It is an exaggerated amount of money compared to what there was in those times. Today any show or artist that performs is crazy what is paid. So yes, it is outside the reality of what popular soccer in the town was,” he explained.

In addition to this, he indicated that the social problems faced by some sectors, who have intensified their protests in recent days to attract international attention, “do not help us at all, they diminish the enthusiasm of the World Cup celebration, the pride of welcoming the world and that we are the headquarters of the inauguration.” However, he asserted that fans will closely follow the performance of the Mexican National Team in the sporting event, “because Mexicans, at the end of the day, like to see their team, the atmosphere, be present and they will arrive. It is an opportunity for Mexico to show a positive face to the world after so much unpleasant news.”

“It is a mixture of pride and skepticism, because the opening match will be played in the Aztec Stadiumwhich will make history by hosting three World Cups. No country can boast of that and with the arrival of teams and fans we all want to be present in the stadium or in the family atmosphere, in the bar or in the restaurant,” he added.

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Given the regional challenges that the host countries currently face, García Rodríguez stressed that “soccer should forgive all that. It is a World Cup celebration in which soccer should unite us and hopefully it will be about peace, sport, fun and pride, because now things are mixed that did not exist before. I hope Mexico is great and gives us satisfaction, that everything is fixed and we give a good image to the world.”

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