Los Angeles is getting its first World Cup matches in 32 years, and the city is already dressed for them. Eight FIFA World Cup games are set for Southern California, with the USA opener against Paraguay scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles.
For Juan Cortes, the return of the tournament is a reason to hang both the United States and Mexico flags outside his mechanic shop in Los Angeles. It is not a reason to buy a ticket. Cortes said he will not attend a single match because the prices are too high, even though the games are happening in his own city. “I wish they would help us out,” he said, adding that fans with real passion for their teams should be able to watch their idols in person.
The excitement is visible well beyond Cortes’s shop. Late on Thursday, cheering could be heard across Venice Beach as South Korea and the Czech Republic played in the tournament’s second game in Mexico, while Mexico beat South Africa in the opening match in Mexico City earlier in the day. The return of the World Cup to Southern California has turned Los Angeles into a sporting stopover, but it has also highlighted who gets to take part and who is left outside.
Francisco Aguilar, a football fan from Texas visiting Los Angeles, said he cannot get tickets for any games and believes the tournament has been built around profit rather than access. “It’s just sad that you can’t go; it’s a class thing,” he said. Less than 12 hours before kickoff, tickets for the home team’s opening match were still being offered on resale platforms, a sign that demand has not reached every corner of the market even as the city buzzes with anticipation.
Aguilar said he wants to see Spain’s young star Lamine Yamal make his first World Cup appearance and predicted a final repeat of the 2022 decider between Argentina and France. For fans like him and Cortes, the return of the tournament has brought the pageantry back to Southern California, but not the chance to buy a seat. With the USA set to open against Paraguay on Friday, the biggest question in Los Angeles is not whether the games will draw attention. It is who, in the city filled with World Cup fever, will actually get to watch them from inside the stadium.
