April 23 – Toronto, unlike other World Cup host cities, appears to have come to its senses. The city’s executive committee is now recommending that the majority of World Cup Fan Fest tickets be handed out free, after a backlash against an earlier plan to charge $10 a head.
Of the 20,000 general admission tickets available each day, 15,600 will be free. Another 500 a day will go to community groups. The remaining 3,900 are premium, priced from $100 to $300 Canadian.
The City Council is expected to vote on it this week.
The reversal matters because Toronto’s original bid promised the Fan Fest at Fort York and the Bentway would be free. That was the pitch to residents. Then a report landed proposing a $10 charge, and councillors and fans noticed.
Josh Matlow, the councillor for Ward 12, Toronto-St. Paul’s, was the one who pushed hardest.
“Toronto taxpayers have already paid for these games with $180 million of their tax dollars,” Matlow told The Athletic. “The average Torontonian will not be able to afford to ever go to the games when tickets go for thousands of dollars.”
“The whole point of the Fan Fest was to create a free and inclusive place, which was advertised as such, so that even if you can’t afford to go into Toronto Stadium and watch your team play, you can at least be in the area. You could be at Fort York, you can be part of the scene. You can feel involved in this major global event that your city is hosting.”
On Wednesday, Matlow confirmed on X that the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto Secretariat had agreed that the festival will be free for all general admission.
A win for Matlow and for the people who bankrolled this thing with their tax dollars. A reminder that the right to watch your country in a fan park should never have been up for sale in the first place.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at [email protected]