At the 1998 men’s World Cup in France, concerns about ticket shortages led to local authorities hatching a plan.
If fans could not get into the grounds, why not offer what they deemed the next best thing — broadcasting games on giant city-centre screens for the first time in the competition’s history.
Four years later, in South Korea and Japan, larger-scale public viewing areas were so successful that, at Germany 2006, FIFA launched its own official branded events in each of the 12 host cities, attracting more than 18million visitors, according to the organisation’s website.
Across the next three World Cups, supporters were encouraged to attend the “FIFA Fan Fest” in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, which, like in Germany, came alive around matches.
Then, at Qatar 2022, a rebranded “FIFA Fan Festival” took things to the next level: a rolling, continuous “cultural, music and gastronomic” experience which involved 146 artists performing at Doha’s Al Bidda Park across four weeks.
Fans turned out in Qatar but would they in the U.S.? (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)
Over the last couple of decades, continental governing bodies such as UEFA, which runs European football, and CAF, which does the same job in Africa, have followed the trend. At the most recent Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy performed a free concert two nights before the final at Rabat’s fan park.
Earlier in the tournament, eight other musicians appeared at as many different locations across Morocco at the same time on the same date as part of a strategy, according to CAF, which “highlights the richness and diversity of African music alongside Morocco’s cultural heritage”.
Front and centre in many of the videos produced by the organisation for online purposes were brands of multinational sponsors such as Royal Air Maroc and Total Energies.
CAF, like UEFA and FIFA, is not just hosting these spectacles out of benevolence, recognising that it might be nice if visitors or locals could engage, in some remote way, with what is happening inside the stadiums they cannot reach. These are marketing opportunities for partners and a revenue generator through exclusive food, beverage and merchandising rights.
What was initially a practical solution involving a relatively authentic experience has now become increasingly synthetic, having been harnessed into a moneymaking exercise for the powers that run football.
It makes them even richer, and potentially drives money away from the places which would once have been the beneficiaries of having a major tournament take place on their doorstep — independent cafes, bars and restaurants where people traditionally gathered before rigorous, organised fun came along.
Part of the attraction was the entrance fee. Since 2006, FIFA has not set a charge rate but, in December, for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, a website set up for the New York/New Jersey “FIFA Fan Festival” came with a link for “early bird tickets” and a page where supporters could select specific days to attend. The Daily Mail reported at the time that it would cost $12.50 (around £10) to watch Mexico vs South Korea on June 11 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino — a fan of fan zones (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
Last week, that Fan Festival was scrapped and organisers are now seeking a new location just four months before the whole thing kicks off, with the issue of admission costs uncertain.
Perhaps it would be no bad thing if other cities such as Miami reached the same conclusion before the World Cup rolls into town, as it might due to a wider $625million funding delay highlighted on Tuesday by Ray Martinez, the chief operating officer of the city’s host committee.
“We’ve never handled anything like this,” he told reporters. “We are used to working on major events here in South Florida and Miami, but a 23-day fan festival in downtown Miami and at City Park is something that has never been tried and never been done.”
That is precisely the point: it has never been tried, or done, because the U.S. does not have a “fan fest” culture across its sports. Far better to attend a tailgate party, or a city rooftop gathering, to catch the match.
The sensible thing, surely, would be to scrap the idea of these forced fan zones and allow the event to go free range. But sadly it seems the U.S. is having to respond to FIFA’s wishes of having a homogenous way of doing things. If the spirit of any country is meant to be an important feature of tournament hosting, what is the point in delivering something that feels so unnatural?
Foreign visitors to Miami and other hosts such as Kansas City might have a more uniquely American experience if they cannot get into a game by pulling up a stool in the intimacy of a bar, starting a conversion and letting the mood wash over them.
Alternatively, in a time of such depressing division, Americans might do the same and realise they have more in common than they assume.