Priced Out of Stadiums, Mexican Fans Take World Cup Celebrations to the Streets

MEXICO CITY (AP) — As the World Cup roars to life across Mexico, millions of fans are celebrating the tournament not from stadium seats but from the streets. With ticket prices soaring beyond the reach of most ordinary Mexicans, communities are reclaiming the event by gathering around televisions set up in plazas, under highway underpasses, and at taco stands, turning public spaces into their own raucous fan zones.

“GOOOOOOOOOAL!” The cry echoes through working-class neighborhoods as neighbors crowd around screens propped on plastic tables, waving flags and wearing jerseys. For many, these improvised watch parties have become the heart of the World Cup experience. “Honestly, there’s nothing like going to the stadiums, but I prefer being here in the street… For me it’s like watching the game from my living room,” said Esmeralda Serrato, who watched Mexico’s victories alongside dozens of neighbors. “I feel the blood rushing through my veins saying ‘This is the World Cup.’”

The celebrations come amid sharp criticism of FIFA’s pricing policies. In Mexico, where the average monthly wage is around $433, the cost of tickets — originally ranging from $140 to $8,680 and later skyrocketing, with some final tickets reaching nearly $33,000 — has left many feeling excluded from a tournament their country is co-hosting with the U.S. and Canada. “The World Cup is built around the logic of squeezing as much value out of it as possible… That ends up excluding a lot of people,” said Diego Merla, fiscal justice coordinator for Oxfam Mexico.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the high prices, saying they reflect the U.S. market, where even college games can cost $300. But for fans like Guillermo Ramírez, 49, a shopkeeper from the working-class Tepito neighborhood, the solution was to bring the celebration to the street. He set up a TV and speakers on plastic tables outside his home, recreating the communal viewing he remembers from the 1986 Mexico World Cup. “There are a lot of us who simply can’t afford to go to the stadium,” Ramírez said. “Tepito is a soccer barrio, and when there’s a match on, everyone takes out their TVs to watch, especially now during the World Cup.”

Across host cities such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, hundreds of thousands of people have gathered for mass street parties following Mexico’s consecutive victories. These homegrown celebrations, fueled by frustration and a deep love for the sport, have become a powerful symbol of resistance and community solidarity in the face of economic inequality. As one fan put it, the street parties are a way of saying that even if the stadium gates are closed, the spirit of the World Cup belongs to everyone.