Across Atlanta, local immigrant fans are priced out of their beloved game. But that won’t keep them from cheering on their home teams.

Carlos Lugo stands behind the counter of Lugo Sports, a small shop in Plaza Fiesta. Soccer jerseys stretch to the ceiling, while racks prominently display Mexican FIFA jerseys—both official ones and knockoffs. A $170 official FIFA soccer ball rests on the checkout counter. 

Carlos’ world may be filled with FIFA paraphernalia—but, he said, he doesn’t know anyone with tickets to any of the upcoming World Cup matches in Atlanta.

Carlos’s parents opened the sports shop in Plaza Fiesta more than two decades ago, and a few years ago, he took over the business. He has family in the Atlanta area as well as in Veracruz, Mexico, and they all would have wanted to go to any of the games. “But because of the state of the world, they can’t,” he said. “It’s not affordable.”

Across Atlanta, soccer fans from the city’s immigrant communities are priced out of their beloved game—whose premier event, the FIFA World Cup, is being hosted here for the first time this summer. In less than two months, fans will fill the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch any of the eight matches being played in the city. Teams are competing from all over the world, including Haiti, Morocco, and Uzbekistan.

285 South spoke to many local residents who said that because of economic hardships, the insane ticket prices, and the escalation in ICE arrests and detentions, there’s no way they could attend the official matches.  The teams they support will be playing the game they love in their own back yard, but they’ll be cheering for their home countries from outside the shiny glass and steel walls of the Benz.

Business has been generally slower at Plaza Fiesta “ever since the ICE raids and stuff,” Carlos said, “because people don’t want to leave their house.” And for his family members who work in construction, it’s also been hard, and they’ve been going out less. “They don’t want to be seen as often.”

“The prices are really ridiculous,” he said, referring to FIFA tickets which can range anywhere between around $300 to upwards of $8,000 for the semifinal. “It’s either go watch a game of football for a day, for about two hours, or pay your mortgage,” he said. “I’d rather go see Atlanta United for 50 bucks.”

“It’s either go watch a game of football for a day, for about two hours, or pay your mortgage,” he said. “I’d rather go see Atlanta United for 50 bucks.” – Carlos Lugo, Lugo Sports, Plaza Fiesta

FIFA has been under fire for months from fans, who are angry about expensive tickets. And it’s not just game tickets that are expensive; local businesses and services jacking up prices. Transit tickets to get to the games in New York are upwards of $100, instead of the regular fare of around $13.

Still, soccer, the most popular sport in the world, is central for many in Atlanta’s immigrant communities. So people are still making plans to watch. 

Gio Garcia, the marketing director at Plaza Fiesta, hopes to make the matches more accessible by hosting community events at the indoor shopping mall throughout the summer. They’ve applied for a license from FIFA to be able to broadcast the games on a large screen in the parking lot, and are “optimistic we will get it,” Gio said. “But we don’t have any guarantee at this point.”  

South of Atlanta, near Hartsfield Jackson airport, Cheikh Thiam is also brainstorming ways to bring World Cup matches to his community. A founding member of Senegalese Community for Aid and Development (SENCAD), he says it’s been overwhelming this past year to try to find immigration legal support for many Senegalese in the area—many of whom came to the U.S. through the southern border over the past several years. Many live south of the airport, partly because they either work there or in warehouses nearby, Cheikh said. 

“Eighty or 90 percent of them have their work permit and social security so they can at least work and get somewhere to live,” he told 285 South. “But, you know, they go through the immigration process, and it’s not easy right now, denying almost everybody.” Immigration attorneys are expensive, he explained, and SENCAD is trying to negotiate the costs down. 

The Senegalese are extremely proud of their national team, who won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and were runners-up in 2002, 2019, and 2025. “It’s a big nation of soccer,” said Cheikh. This year, the Senegalese team is playing in New York, New Jersey, and Canada. But with low wage work and rising costs—in addition to the consideration of immigration legal fees—many are finding the expensive FIFA tickets simply out of reach.  

SENCAD is currently in discussions with the Senegalese consulate, Cheikh said, to see if they can help pay for tickets for a handful of community members. “They’re working on it now. They will see what they can do. It’s not going to be a lot of people, but at least we can accommodate some people to go.” 

Here in Atlanta, he’s hoping to organize a watch party at the new SENCAD office in College Park, which they opened in late 2025, or at an event hall. “Everybody’s excited,” he said. 

“We’re Hispanic, we love soccer, I don’t think they will be in hiding during those games.” – Gio Garcia, Marketing Director, Plaza Fiesta

Back at Plaza Fiesta, Carlos Lugo isn’t the only one looking forward to the World Cup. Jocelyn works at Soccer Central, a large store that sells official FIFA gear alongside a wide range of cowboys hats, jeans, and sneakers. She moved to Atlanta from Mexico about two years ago. “Estoy emocianando,” I’m excited, she said.

Acknowledging that fear of ICE arrests may have made some community members reluctant to to leave their homes over the past year, Gio didn’t think that would stop people from going out to watch the games – “we’re Hispanic, we love soccer, I don’t think they will be in hiding during those games.”