Canada fans race to L.A. for FIFA World Cup but flights are outrageously expensive
Getting FIFA World Cup tickets for Canada’s knockout stage match in Los Angeles isn’t a problem for fans travelling south. Finding a flight is.
Canada is taking on South Africa in the Round of 32 on Sunday, but getting to Southern California is proving to be a challenge for fans. The flights are so expensive that some Canada supporters have decided to drive.
“It all just happened so fast,” said Dalen Brueckner, a Canadian soccer fan from Edmonton who had been attending Canada’s matches in Vancouver. “We all had tickets here [Vancouver], and then it was like, well, now we gotta get to Los Angeles. And those flight prices, every time you look, it’s over $1,000… Now we are on a fun little road trip.”
Brueckner was in the car with a pair of other dedicated fans, Sonny Voyageur and Zenobia Wilson, when Daily Hive spoke to him. They’re planning to make the 22-hour drive without stopping, taking turns sleeping in the back seat.
Anne-Marie Sorvin/Imagn Images
Ticket prices have plummeted ever since South Korea was upset by South Africa on Wednesday evening. Los Angeles has a massive Korean population, and now it appears fans are trying to offload their tickets.
That’s good news for Canadians, because before South Korea lost, Brueckner said the cheapest ticket he could find was about $4,000.
“Now the tickets are like, so available… But truly, getting to L.A. is the really hard part right now.”
Cheap tickets, by FIFA standards, are available for the match. Brueckner said supporters’ tickets were available for as low as $88 for Category 4, or $375 to $850 otherwise.
The price of a flight is a different story, and it doesn’t seem to matter which Canadian city you’re flying from.
“From Edmonton, for instance, a lot of fans have tickets and it was $1,600 roundtrip flight for one person to go to Los Angeles.”
Non-stop flights to L.A. on Saturday are sold out from Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto. A one-way ticket was $986 from Calgary or $1,014 from Montreal at last check.
The fan support for Canada has been incredible. (Rob Williams/Daily Hive)
“I think we will still see a good number of Canadian fans,” Brueckner said. “We’ll just have to see on Sunday what it looks like.”
While some, including yours truly, have questioned why this match couldn’t have been played in Canada, Brueckner sees a silver lining.
“I don’t feel as angry as some people are… Vancouver was an amazing atmosphere, don’t get me wrong, but the players couldn’t leave the hotel without being surrounded by people. Now they get to go to L.A. and just focus on the games… It could be a blessing in disguise.”
If it is, these road-tripping Canadians will need to figure out how to get to Houston before July 4.