Husband noted that in Mexico, locals on average salaries would be unable to afford tickets to see the games, and praised Canada’s efforts to curb sky-high ticket resale costs.
The Tartan Army, as travelling Scottish fans are called, became one of the highlights of the Uefa Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, beloved by locals for singing and dancing their way from Munich to Cologne to Stuttgart.
Stephen Jenkins is pinning his hopes on a late influx of football fans
Stephen Jenkins, who manages the Fontaine Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, told the BBC it was in “a very similar spot” in terms of bookings to this time last year.
“We are not seeing the pick-up we had anticipated,” said Jenkins, who is pulling out all the stops for the World Cup. He had expected a boom due to the “once-in-a-lifetime experience” of the tournament being in town, but has so far been let down.
But Jenkins told the BBC he saw a small bump in bookings when the schedule of fixtures was announced, and expects to see “much more of an uptick as the matches approach”.
In an illustration of the extent to which local businesses are pinning their hopes on the tournament being a success, Jenkins said the fan festival would be “a difference maker”.
The Fontaine itself is hosting a “Culinary Cup”, which will see guests able to eat country-themed meals to match the teams playing in Kansas City.
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