The cost of watching Bafana Bafana at the FIFA World Cup

South Africans looking to support Bafana Bafana in person at next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America will need to cough up thousands to attend a single match.

This excludes other major costs like those of travel, accommodation, transport, and food.

While the matches and teams are only scheduled to be announced in December 2025, FIFA made the first phase of tickets available at the beginning of October using a lottery system.

This was used due to the significant demand for tickets. Here, participants would indicate what type of tickets they would like, and a certain number were selected to purchase tickets during phase 1.

FIFA announced last week that over 1 million tickets had already been sold to people from 212 different countries, despite only 28 of the 48 teams in the tournament being filled.

These tickets use a tiered pricing model, separated into four categories, Category 1 being the most sought-after seats, often next to the field, and Category 4 being those located at the top of the stadiums.

Those who have been lucky enough to secure a spot in line to buy tickets have listed the price tiers at stadiums where matches will be hosted.

The most affordable tickets to a group stage match start at $60 (R1,040). On the other hand, the most expensive seats cost as much as $2,753 (R47,691).

However, getting the chance to purchase Category 4 tickets is very low, as only a few blocks out of the dozens in each stadium are allocated for this tier.

The average price of a group match, based on all tickets available for a game, is between $197 (R3,412), such as in Guadalajara, Mexico, and $615 (R10,653) in Los Angeles, US.

Until FIFA announces where South Africa will be playing, Newsday will use the median average price of the 16 stadiums hosting matches in the tournament, which is $250 (R4,330).

For the same reason, the article will focus on the cost of attending one of the three group stage matches, as intracontinental travel costs cannot be calculated until the schedules have been announced.

However, should Bafana make it into the Round of 32, the median cost of an average ticket will increase to $265 (R4,590).

The cost of getting there

The next major expense to budget for is a plane ticket across the Atlantic. This is also challenging to calculate accurately, given that three countries are co-hosting the tournament.

Flights from Johannesburg to Atlanta on 10 June 2026 and returning a week later range from R17,100 for a 29-hour commute with one stop in London on British Airways to R19,215 for a direct flight on Delta Airlines lasting 16 hours.

Travelling to Toronto, Canada, is slightly less pricey, with a round-trip flight on KLM costing R15,500 for a 20-hour journey with one stop in Amsterdam.

Other flights include a 26-hour trip on KLM with one stop for R15,000 and a 28-hour commute on British Airways with one stop for R19,000.

Flying to Mexico City will be the most expensive destination for South Africans, with flights on the same date starting at R21,880 for a 26-hour trip with one stop on KLM.

There are very few other flights available for under R28,000; one of them is a 33-hour flight on Air France, costing R22,179.  No airlines offer a direct flight between the two cities.

Accommodation costs

Given that prices are likely to change drastically over the next year as demand rises and supply decreases, Newsday calculated the average cost of budget, mid-range, and luxury accommodation in Atlanta, Mexico City, and Toronto.

These estimates are based on 2025 rates for a five-night stay in each city, according to Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and local platforms during high-demand periods.

Toronto is the most expensive city, with a budget stay costing visitors $875 (R15,200) for five nights. Mid-range accommodation averages $1,500 (R26,100), while a five-star hotel can set visitors back $2,000 (R34,800).

Atlanta is slightly more affordable, with budget accommodation averaging $590 (R10,200), mid-range stays around $1,100 (R19,153), and luxury options exceeding $1,600 (R27,800).

Mexico City is the most affordable, with budget stays roughly $340 (R5,920), mid-range options around $750 (R13,500), and luxury accommodation averaging $1,500 or more.

City	Budget stay	Mid-range stay	Luxury stay
Toronto	R15,200	R26,100	R34,800+
Atlanta	R10,200	R19,153	R27,800+
Mexico City	R5,920	R13,500	R26,100+

The new World Cup format

The 23rd edition of the tournament, which takes place every four years, will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the final scheduled to be played at the 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Most matches will be played in the US, with Mexico and Canada acting as auxiliary hosts.

This will be the first time that more than one nation has hosted the tournament since 2002, when it was held in Korea and Japan.

South Africa, which qualified for the tournament, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the knockout stages, with Slovenia progressing ahead of it only because it had scored more goals.

The 2026 World Cup will also be the first time more than 32 teams have been included in the competition, with 48 squads being able to qualify.

This will not affect the number of games played by each team, as FIFA has expanded the number of groups rather than the number of teams in a group.

However, this will increase the total number of games played throughout the tournament from 64, as in the past seven tournaments, to 104.