The Group Chat: Ballin’ on a budget

It’s officially FIFA men’s World Cup week, with matches kicking off on Thursday. The hype is real, but there’s an elephant in the room: It’s infamously, unbelievably expensive to actually attend a game.

• Sky-high ticket prices plus eye-watering mark-ups for transit, hotels, and everything in between have unfortunately been a major hot topic before the teams take the pitch.

• Luckily, we chatted with GISTers, host city committees, local soccer fanatics, and even OG sports hostess with the mostess Gabrielle Union (yes, way!) about how to join in on the Summer of Soccer without dropping tens of thousands of dollars. Bring it on.

1️⃣ Catch a vibe in the host cities

Celebrations will spill beyond the stadium walls and out onto the streets of the host cities around the continent. With an estimated 6.5M people traveling to take in the tourney, host cities are pulling out all the stops — think city-wide activations that would put any tailgate to shame. Tickets in hand or not, you’ll want to add these destinations to your summer travel plans ASAP.

• Watch for free: Many cities will use their public spaces to host official FIFA Fan Fests and watch parties with footy fanatics from every corner of the globe. From Philadelphia to Dallas to Mexico City, enjoy that unmistakable, electric feeling of watching the game with a roaring crowd. Chills.

• Getcha game on, go play: Seattle created a wildly fun game to help you explore the city — think The Amazing Race meets tourism meets soccer trivia — while cities like New York and Toronto installed public pitches in iconic locations. Kickin’ it at 30 Rock? Yes, please.

• Put the beauty in the beautiful game: Many cities and local businesses will feature soccer-themed art installations, like this exhibit at LA’s art museum, live music at Kansas City’s FIFA Fan Fest, or even the massive soccer ball in Vancouver.

2️⃣ Head to your city’s local soccer bar

Unlike a regular sports bar, soccer bars show fútbol exclusively year-round. They’re often fashioned like a traditional English pub, attracting regular patrons to enjoy community around the Premier League, NWSL matches, and, of course, World Cup showdowns.

Here are a few of our favorite soccer bars across the U.S.:

🍎 NYC: Banter Bar (Williamsburg), Astoria Tavern (Astoria), O’Hanlon’s (East Village)

🎐 Chicago: Cleo’s (Ukrainian Village), AJ Hudson’s (Lakeview), Soccer House (West Town)

🤠 Texas: The Londoner (Dallas), Pitch 25 (Austin), Social Beer Garden HTX (Houston)

🇨🇦 Toronto: Café Diplomatico (Little Italy), Brazen Head Irish Pub (Liberty Village), Amigos da Dundas (Little Portugal)

⭐ LA: Tom’s Watch Bar (Downtown LA), Ye Olde King’s Head (Santa Monica), The Fox and Hounds (Studio City)

3️⃣ Host a watch party

With 104 matches on the docket between now and mid-July, World Cup party hosting is a marathon, not a sprint. To help prioritize your time and budget, we called in the big guns: iconic actress, famous WAG, longtime soccer fan, and Angel City FC minority owner Gabrielle Union, who’s hosting Casamigos Tequila’s massive watch party for Thursday’s kickoff.

Union’s most crucial ingredient for any watch party? “If you don’t have great food and drinks, your party’s doomed…the biggest party foul is running out of ice. The ice game has to be clutch.” Wise words for the heat of summer. (Her preferred ice is the crunchy pebble kind, BTW.)

• Second, Union says to play to your strengths: “Now is not the time to experiment with some dish you saw on TikTok. Now is the time to deliver your hits, whatever is tried and true and battle-tested.” A good tip for the pitch and the kitchen.

Last but not least, Union won’t be missing matches to run hosting errands — the World Cup only comes around every four years, after all. “None of this is a job, right? This is all bonus time. Enjoy it! Maybe learn a little something about the different countries that are playing. Maybe lean into some of those cultural customs (without appropriating). Get a little bit more into the game, research the players.

• “I’m doing weird deep dives on everyone’s Instagrams and learning so much. I want to know who’s dating who. I want to know what the tea is. Give me all the storylines. Just enjoy it, this should be fun. And if you burn the hot dogs, it’s not the end of the world.” Preach.