Erin Lanahan 
If you were lucky enough to lock down tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the next step is to think about how to get to the games. For those traveling to MetLife, or New York New Jersey Stadium, for the matches, NJ Transit announced train tickets will cost World Cup ticketholders $150. That’s led some people, who we assume have never been to the States before, to share their plans to walk from New York City to the swamps of Jersey. Let’s break down why people are saying this and how it’s just not possible to walk to the World Cup matches in New Jersey.
World Cup Transportation Options
The sticker shock continues for the World Cup. Ticket prices for matches started from around $450-$900 for early matches and got up to over $10,000 for the final games. Then, we learned parking won’t be allowed at the stadium, so fans will have to use public transit or ride-share apps. On April 17th, NJ Transit announced that return train tickets for fans traveling from New York Penn Station to East Rutherford will cost $150 each. That same ride typically costs $12.90 on a regular day.
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News of the $150 train ticket frustrated a lot of World Cup ticket holders who already shelled out big bucks for the international sports tournament. It led to several international soccer fans online saying they would instead opt to walk to the games at New York New Jersey Stadium. (Do we really have to keep calling it that?)
It’s clear these people online planning on walking to the World Cup matches have never been to New Jersey. (Or maybe they’re just really good at ragebait. Because it’s working.)
About The Swamps Of Jersey
The New Jersey Meadowlands have a colorful history. Formed nearly 12,000 years ago, the Meadowlands evolved from a freshwater lake into a 20,000-acre mass of marshes and forests. European settlers in the 17th century cleared forests and built dikes, transforming the land into agricultural meadows. By the mid-20th century, it had become a toxic wasteland due to heavily polluted industrial dumping. There were significant wetlands lost, but thanks to recent ecological restoration, organizations have been able to preserve roughly 8,400 acres.
The area went from swamps to sports in the late 1970s. New Jersey leaders sought to bring the New York Giants NFL team to New Jersey, leading to the creation of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, or the NJSEA. This group oversees the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
To construct the stadium, engineers had to drain parts of the marsh and build on top of that fill. The Meadowlands Racetrack eventually opened in September 1976, followed by Giants Stadium in October 1976.
As the years went on, the Giants and the Jets partnered to build a new, modern stadium in the old parking lot of Giants Stadium. The $1.6 billion venue, known as New Meadowlands Stadium, opened in 2010 and was renamed MetLife Stadium in 2011.
Walking Is Simply Not An Option
Let’s play pretend and say you were planning on walking from New York City to The Meadowlands. For this scenario, we’ll say your starting point is New York Penn Station at 234 W 31st Street, and your end point is MetLife Stadium.
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Google Maps gave us three options, all taking over four hours to get from New York to New Jersey. It says you would have to walk west towards the Javits Center, then hop on a ferry to get across the Hudson River. From there, you would journey through Weehawken, then Union City, up to Ridgefield, over to Little Ferry, then down to the Meadowlands. Quite the journey for a 90-minute soccer match.
Someone online had the genius idea of just taking the train to another nearby station and walking from there. Through the swamp, full of toxic waste and the corpses of mob bosses. Across major highways, full of Jersey drivers who do not brake for Europeans. If you know anything about New Jerseyans, you know they will not hesitate to tell you how stupid this idea sounds.
While the prices may be high to get to and from the World Cup matches at New York New Jersey Stadium, it’s still recommended to take safe, reliable methods of transportation. NJ Transit is slated to have dedicated trains for all of the matches in New Jersey, and apps like Uber and Lyft will be available to pick fans up and drop them off, without having to walk across major highways and through swamps.
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