Germany Players Fund Buses for Fans Amid World Cup Travel Costs

Germany’s players have stepped into a growing row over World Cup transport costs by paying for 600 of their own supporters to travel to the team’s final Group E match against Ecuador.

With fans in New York stunned by soaring prices to reach MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the squad has agreed to cover the cost of buses from the city to the arena for the 25 June fixture.

Train tickets from central New York to the stadium, usually $12.90 (£9.50), were pushed up to $150 for the tournament before being pulled back to $98 after a backlash. Shuttle buses, first priced at $80 for a similar journey, have since been reduced to $20.

The New Jersey governor has blamed the spike on Fifa’s refusal to subsidise transport, a stance that has left supporters footing a bill they had not expected to face at a World Cup.

“In light of the high cost of bus and train travel in New York during the World Cup, the German national team players have organised free transport to the final group match for 600 fans,” the German FA said.

“Captain Joshua Kimmich and his team-mates are covering the cost of buses to take supporters from New York to the arena in New Jersey for the match against Ecuador.”

The gesture comes against a wider sense of frustration among travelling fans. At the World Cups in Russia and Qatar, organisers provided free transport to stadiums and fan zones, a benefit that had also been written into the United States’ original 2018 host agreement.

That promise changed in 2023. A tweak to the deal confirmed that supporters would be charged to travel at cost value instead.

Now, as prices bite and tempers fray, it is the players – not the organisers – who are picking up the tab to make sure at least some of their fans can still afford to follow them on the road.