Philadelphia to offer fans free transport when leaving World Cup games

Adam Crafton

Philadelphia to offer fans free transport when leaving World Cup games

A zoomed in view of the "Lincoln Financial Field" sign on the outside of the stadium

Philadelphia will host six World Cup matches this summer. Luke Hales / Getty Images

The Philadelphia host committee for this summer’s World Cup has secured an agreement for fans to receive free travel when leaving Lincoln Financial Field via the city’s transit system.

That system, SEPTA, last week revealed that it would be keeping fares consistent with ordinary prices during the World Cup, meaning passengers will be asked to pay $2.90.

This will remain true for transit to the stadium. But now, The Athletic can reveal that those travelling via SEPTA will not be asked to pay at all when exiting Lincoln Financial Field after the six World Cup games at the venue, due to a partnership the host committee has made with Airbnb. Organizers say complimentary rides home from NRG Station will begin at half-time and continue for two hours following the end of each match.

The stadium will host five group-stage games, featuring nations including Brazil and France, before also hosting a July 4 round-of-16 game which will coincide with celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary.

Headlines over the past fortnight have been dominated by comparatively sky-high prices for transit to and from World Cup games in Foxboro and New Jersey, with an $80 train and $95 bus being unveiled to transport fans to matches at Gillette Stadium from Boston, while NJ Transit on Friday confirmed a round-trip rail ticket from New York Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium would cost $150 per passenger. An alternative bus shuttle service will cost $80.

The comparison is not apples to apples, with Lincoln Financial Field located far closer to the center of Philadelphia than either MetLife Stadium or Gillette Stadium.

However, it does mean that it is currently possible to travel, on a World Cup match-day, by rail for a much lower price from New York City to Philadelphia’s venue (a 96-mile journey) compared to New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium (an 18-mile journey).

A search on Amtrak rail services by The Athletic on Sunday found that a New York City-based fan or visitor attending the 5pm kick-off France against Iraq on June 22, for example, could buy a return seat for $35, in which they would leave New York Penn at 7.25am, allowing them to spend a full day in Philly, before taking a return train home at 11.15pm after the game. The cost would rise to $37.90, when including the one-way $2.90 rail ticket via SEPTA to the stadium in Philadelphia. This price of $37.90 is almost four times cheaper than catching the $150 round-trip rail from New York Penn to watch Norway against Senegal on the same day at MetLife Stadium.

A shot from the stands of Lincoln Financial Field before a soccer game

Meg Kane, the CEO of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, told The Athletic that free travel on egress from the stadium has been made possible due to funding provided by Airbnb, a FIFA sponsor which is providing an additional $5m worth of funding for initiatives to support the tournament across host cities.

SEPTA has previously said it expects to spend around $21.5m on additional transit and overtime hours during a period which includes the World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game and America’s 250 this summer. It has been assisted by a $5.5m federal grant to assist on World Cup transportation.

Kane said: “Our board of directors, since our bid, has always been very focused on keeping this very fan-centred and resident-centred. So when we met with Airbnb in July 2025 for the first time, we heard what they were looking to invest in and they asked us to put together a proposal.

“Our lead was to underwrite all of the post-match egress from the stadium along SEPTA’s Broad Street Line. For major special events at the stadium complex, the Philadelphia Eagles often leverage added services that come on an Eagles game day and marry that with free egress from a sponsoring partner, specifically in the playoffs, but on major games too. So we had the playbook on the idea working well and on it being something that would be a benefit to the fans who are going.”

Airbnb says it supported the initiative, in part, because its own business model is about providing variety and affordable options to visitors. In New York and New Jersey, their investments went towards building mini soccer fields and in Houston, it went towards assisting a green corridor.

Jay Carney, global head of policy and communications at Airbnb, said: “They had the foresight to come to us with the idea of supporting fans on their transportation costs. We thought it was good and signed up because our whole approach to this sponsorship for the World Cup and the Olympics, which we sponsor, is to create affordable options.”

FIFA has said that the original hosting agreements with World Cup host cities included a clause which insisted cities must provide free transport options to and from games for ticket-holders, but this was subsequently changed to say the travel must be provided “at cost”.

Kane said her host committee has been able to keep prices low, in part because they engaged the business and philanthropic community “before the bid was won” to even host the tournament in Philadelphia, securing over $40m in commitments. Philadelphia is also one of the few host cities which has honored the original commitment to host a free FIFA Fan Fest for the duration of the tournament.

Her committee has also been boosted by $48.49m in federal funding to the state of Pennsylvania to assist security operations during the tournament, while Josh Shapiro, the Governor of Pennsylvania, secured $12.38m as part of a wider fund to bring marquee events to the region earlier this year. Kane added that while economic impact remains important, the investments in the World Cup are also about raising Philadelphia’s profile on a world stage and making it a consistently in-demand destination, rather than being seen as a “surprise-and-delight city.”

“We view our hosting of the FIFA World Cup as the opportunity to make any and every other event in Philadelphia possible,” she said.

“The FIFA World Cup allows us a 39-day opportunity to introduce the world and to Philadelphia and all that it has to offer. For us, the success is in the conventions that get booked after this, it’s in the return tourism of both domestic and international who choose to come back.

“It is an international business that experiences Philadelphia and thinks when they’re looking to grow, this might be a great market to have a U.S.-based outlet. It’s about taking Philadelphia to a next level and helping to spur future growth. When people have asked the question, ‘What do you want the headline of the newspaper to be on January 1, 2027?’ I like to borrow from the West Wing and say, ‘What’s next?’ This isn’t a one-time moment. It’s about laying the groundwork for everything else that comes.”

Elsewhere, Kansas City last week also rolled out a gentler pricing plan, with the host committee offering complementary bus services for visitors to travel downtown from the airport during the World Cup. Matchday round-trip buses to the stadium will be available for $15, and drivers will collect and drop off fans from four different locations.