UNITED STATES PERSPECTIVE

Washington discovers that the World Cup it co-financed may turn into its biggest PR nightmare. Bloomberg headlines bluntly "The Most Expensive World Cup Ever" and restitutes the diagnosis without flinching: dynamic pricing makes prices soar, the cumulative costs of host cities explode, ordinary fans are pushed out of the stands by bidding, and municipalities inherit the bill. The Los Angeles Times extends with an editorial by Simon Kuper under the headline "World Cup cash grab" presenting FIFA as a monopoly strengthened by politics and greed. The photo opening the piece is telling: Gianni Infantino handing a ball to Trump at the White House in March 2025 — the visual complicity between the two is the article's argument. The American press also documents the migrant dimension: foreign fans fear ICE controls, several supporters have already canceled their trip. Time questions the tournament's carbon footprint (16 stadiums across 3 countries). CNBC notes that American health authorities are monitoring the event not for flu or covid but for Ebola — a striking shift in the health agenda. The American press is split between the patriotic pride of the 250th Independence anniversary (which is meant to provide symbolic framing) and the economic lucidity on the predatory nature of the FIFA model. The subtext is troubling: for the first time since 1994, Washington hosts a World Cup where it is neither the welcoming nor the popular co-organizer, but the backdrop of an event piloted by a private institution no one likes.