As the 2026 FIFA World Cup heads to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey this summer, a third of all New Jerseyans (34%) say they either plan to attend the games in person (2%) or plan to watch on TV (32%). About half (49%) say they are not interested in the games, and another 15% say they are just hoping the crowds don’t disrupt their daily routines. Two percent of New Jersey adults are not sure what the FIFA World Cup is. These findings are from the latest round of the Garden State Panel Omnibus, a survey of a representative sample of n=1,568 NJ adults.
Eight games are slated for MetLife in June and July. The event has made headlines in the Garden State in recent weeks, as NJ TRANSIT announced $80 round-trip bus fares and $150 round-trip train fares for fans traveling to MetLife Stadium from Penn Station in New York. Newly elected Governor Mikie Sherrill released a statement on April 17th contending that FIFA, the international governing body of the World Cup, should share fan transportation costs to ease the burden felt by NJ TRANSIT, regular commuters, and the State. NY Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has also waded into the public debate, backing Sherrill’s stance that FIFA should cover the additional costs needed to transport fans back and forth between New York and New Jersey. FIFA responded with a statement of their own, citing pre-existing host city agreements and concern that NJ TRANSIT’s proposed fares would dampen enthusiasm around the games at MetLife.
Concerns around transportation costs compound ongoing public debate around World Cup ticket prices, which have risen to four or five figures per ticket due to high demand and the online resale market. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the latest Garden State Panel Omnibus data indicates that many interested fans are put off by the high ticket prices and say they will watch the games on TV. This is true even among New Jerseyans with household incomes of $150,000 or more. Forty percent of this group say they will watch the games on TV, a sentiment shared by 31% of residents with incomes between $50,000 and $149,999 and 27% with incomes below $50,000.
New Jersey’s diverse population is fueling some of the interest in the upcoming World Cup games, with Hispanic New Jerseyans expressing the highest levels of enthusiasm. Half of Hispanic residents (49%) plan to attend or watch the games on TV, compared to roughly three in 10 Black residents (33%) and White residents (30%). In contrast, Black residents (54%) and White (55%) residents are about twice as likely as Hispanic residents (27%) to say they are not fans. World Cup interest among the state’s residents also varies across age groups, with New Jerseyans ages 65 or older most likely to say they are not interested in the World Cup (62%) when compared to those aged 50-64 (52%), 35-49 (44%), and 18-34 (36%).
Apart from the price of attendance, potential disruptions are another concern for some residents. One in six New Jerseyans are anxious about the crowds associated with the World Cup disrupting their daily routines. This sentiment is higher among residents ages 18 to 34, with 24% expressing this concern. Those living in the state’s urban and suburban regions (24% and 19%, respectively) are more likely to worry about potential disruptions than those living in the Philadelphia/South region or the Shore region (6% and 9%, respectively). This is true despite World Cup games being hosted at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, situated just a few miles across the Delaware River from Camden and Gloucester counties.
Results are from a statewide poll of 1,568 adults contacted through the probability-based Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel from March 27 to March 30. The full sample has a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. Data were weighted to represent the residential adult population of New Jersey. The data were weighted by first applying a base weight then balancing the demographic profile of the sample to target population parameters (age, race/ethnicity by nativity, gender/sex by age, gender/sex by education, age by education, NJ region, home tenure, number of household adults, civic engagement, frequency of Internet use, and 2024 presidential recalled vote).
ABOUT THE RUTGERS-EAGLETON/SSRS GARDEN STATE PANEL
The Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel is a probability-based panel of New Jersey adults age 18 or older. The panel is managed and maintained by SSRS, a full-service research firm based in Glen Mills, PA. Panelists are recruited randomly based on statewide representative ABS (Address Based Sample) design. The ABS sample is drawn from the Delivery Sequence File (DSF) maintained by the U.S. Postal Service, which provides population coverage in the 98%-99% range. The Rutgers-Eagleton/SSRS Garden State Panel is a multi-mode panel. Panelists also have the option of taking surveys in their preferred language (English or Spanish).
Questions and Tables
The questions covered in this release are listed below. Column percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding. Respondents are New Jersey adults 18+ unless otherwise noted; all percentages are of weighted results. Interpret groups with samples sizes under 100 with extreme caution.
WC. This summer, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ will be one of the host stadiums for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Which best describes your feelings about the World Cup coming to NJ…
