These Austria fans still want to go to the USA: If in doubt, for the World Cup dream – DiePresse.com

But before the World Cup euphoria really hits, it is already clear that it will once again be a World Cup of contrasts, moral conflicts and many accusations. The policies of the US President Donald Trump is keeping the whole world in suspense, as it looks like it will continue its war against one of the participating countries, Iran, even during the major event in its own country. His restrictive entry policy has dampened the desire to travel to the USA worldwide. And that Trump through FIFA President Gianni Infantino being courted with a “peace prize” invented for him, has caused further damage to the image of the world football association, which has been heavily criticized. German media have already written about a “World Cup of the elites”, and commentators on social media have been calling for a boycott of the World Cup since the disturbing images of the ICE operations in Minnesota around the turn of the year.

If you ask around among Austrian football fans and fan clubs these days, despite the many negative headlines, the majority will find a lot of anticipation and enthusiasm for Austria’s historic World Cup participation, which in individual cases is not as priceless and elitist as corresponding reports would suggest. “We actually had no concerns about the trip because we really want to support our boys on site,” says the Red Eagles chairman.

28-year-old Max Patak and his friend Lukas Peitl from Vienna feel the same way. Despite the political situation, it was never discussed that they wanted to take part in the World Cup. “We are a group of friends that are very interested in ÖFB. We have been there a few times, including at the European Championships in Germany” or at the qualifying games in Belgium, Wales and Northern Ireland, says Max. “It was clear to me since the draw a few years ago that I wanted to go to the World Cup in North America. Since then, I have had this dream of traveling through the USA.” The decision for the USA, Canada and Mexico to host the 2026 World Cup was made in 2018 – during Donald Trump’s first term in office.

In contrast to the professional ÖFB battle bums, it is the first time for Verena from Vienna that she is going to a major football event abroad. She is flying to Austin (Texas) on June 15th with her brother, sister-in-law, their children and their parents. From there they go on a road trip to the Gulf of Mexico before their first game, the second Austria game against reigning world champions Argentina in Arlington near Dallas on June 22nd. She will also watch the third game with her family at the stadium in Kansas City.

The decision was actually not an easy one for her: “I thought about it and am still conflicted,” says Verena when asked whether Trump and FIFA had an influence on her decision. “I was already thinking about whether I thought this was morally right and was unsure. That was also an issue in the family, whether we should drive or not.” But in the end the thought prevailed: “What can the national team do about it? They are playing at a World Cup for the first time in decades.” And she doesn’t want to miss this “historic event for Austria” because of moral concerns. But that certainly caused a “surprise” in those around her. “The answer I got was: What, are you going to the USA now? I would never do that at the moment.” But with children and their parents who are over 70, the country is “just cool to travel around”. Verena has been there several times.

Lukas Herrmanns has lived in Vienna for 18 years; he and his wife Verena are native Germans. They are excited about the World Cup with Germany and their adopted home Austria. Since 1996, Lukas has been at every World Cup and European Championship with the exception of Qatar and Brazil. But they didn’t actually want to go to the 2026 World Cup. “We won’t go to Trump country,” was the couple’s opinion for a long time, also due to moral concerns. “But then my wife Verena said to me that if the World Cup fever breaks out, we’ll regret it. And otherwise you can’t fly to almost any country in the world if you have such high moral standards. You can’t really dismiss that completely.” That’s why he decided to apply for tickets. “My moral self hoped we wouldn’t get tickets. My football self said it would be cool.”

In the end he was left with dozens of tickets: he got two each for the Germany games in New York and Toronto as well as for a possible round of sixteen and round of 16. He would have even received four tickets per game for the Austria games in San Francisco and Kansas City as well as for the round of 16 and round of 16. “When the bill came, we had to take a breath,” he says with a laugh. In terms of price, the German games are significantly more expensive than those played in Austria, at around $600 per ticket. This depends on the seat category (one to four) and demand. For comparison: Tickets for the lower categories of the Austria games against Jordan and Algeria cost around 140 dollars, and against Argentina 200 to 300 dollars. However, exactly how the prices are made up is not transparent when purchasing. For cost reasons and because one of the children is still of school age, Lukas and Verena will only watch the German group game in New York and their potential round of 16 and round of 16 matches. They spend the time between games vacationing. Boston and Philadelphia are on the agenda. Lukas “with a heavy heart” resold the Austria tickets via the Fifa platform at a loss.

»My moral self was hoping we wouldn’t get tickets. My footballing self said it would be cool. «

Lukas Herrmanns

goes to the World Cup with his wife Verena

In order to save costs on the hotels, which have increased comparatively moderately compared to the tickets, the football friends Max and Lukas chose a creative method: “Tour guide” Lukas booked a variety of accommodation in December during the draw and anticipated the venues in which Austria would play if they were to advance. Except for Max, the friends have a “Follow your team” ticket; they can continue to follow the team even after the group phase. Since it is not yet clear where they will take place, Lukas had temporarily booked dozens of accommodations – with the option of free cancellation. Currently their costs for two weeks of travel plus tickets amount to 2,500 euros per person. Robert from the Red Eagles also reports that around 2,500 euros per person were spent on flights, rental cars, accommodation and parking spaces. He gives great praise to the ÖFB, which would have been very helpful in getting tickets. And: “The fan club tickets were very manageable for the majority of the members at around 50 euros per game.”

Verena, who was traveling with her family, also tried the “ÖFB Insider” program. The procedure was simple. However, due to the many requests, the ÖFB was not able to guarantee tickets for everyone. So Verena also had to look on FIFA’s resale platform – and found what she was looking for. At unaffordable prices beyond a thousand euros? “No, there are currently tickets around $300.” So if you’re still spontaneously looking for tickets, you can still find them.

Verena doubts that the stadiums will be full: “These ticket mafia and speculators are driving up the prices. But I really can’t imagine that these huge stadiums will be full when Austria plays against Jordan.” It cannot be ruled out that tickets will be sold off much cheaper on site. But going “at random” wasn’t an option for Verena. FIFA’s procedure could still have legal consequences. There was even a “Ticketgate” report “Eurosport“End of May.

The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey announced investigations into rapidly “skyrocketing prices”. Fans also report that they were misled about the location of the seats. And Germany fan Lukas Herrmanns also talks about dubious events: In New York you can only travel to the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey by public transport. It normally costs 12 dollars, but around the World Cup it suddenly costs 150. “It’s actually immorally expensive and a rip-off from start to finish.” In the meantime, California has also announced that it will investigate suspected ticket usury.

For the fans, after this weekend at the latest, the focus will be on sport. “The mood shortly before departure is huge, the anticipation in the fan club is enormous and everyone can hardly wait to support our team,” says Red Eagles chairman Robert. “Austria will at least reach the quarter-finals,” says Lukas, who lives in Vienna, confidently. “Baumgartner’s injury is tough, but that’s exactly what a team needs sometimes, so to speak: especially now.” Compared to the last major events, it will be more difficult to meet others on site to get in the mood or for fan marches, as ÖFB fan representative Ingo Mach reports. The stadium in Kansas City is surrounded by a huge highway interchange, in Dallas they play 50 kilometers away in Arlington. “It’s not like we know it in Europe, with stadiums right in the center,” says Mach. Nevertheless, he was “positively surprised that so many people wanted to fly over.” He spoke to many fans at the last game before the World Cup. Anticipation now dominates among them. Here’s to a World Cup that, one way or another, will be historic for Austrian football.