Héctor Flores Fernández can still barely speak of his son Daniel without tears. Five years ago, in May 2021, men linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) stormed the 19-year-old’s apartment in Guadalajara, snatching him from his pregnant girlfriend. Daniel is still being held prisoner at a cartel safe house, forced to work for Mexico’s most violent drug gang. “All I can do is hope that he comes back to me one day,” Héctor says, dabbing his eyes. “The pain is tremendous.”
Guadalajara’s gleaming Akron Stadium is now hosting World Cup matches, welcoming thousands of football fans to a city where around a third of Mexico is cartel-ruled and more than 130,000 people are missing. The CJNG, which emerged in 2010 after the Milenio gang broke up, has expanded into 40 countries and earns billions trafficking fentanyl, meth and cocaine to the US. Its leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – known as “El Mencho” – was fatally wounded by Mexican special forces in a February shootout near Tapalpa, about 100 miles southwest of Guadalajara, after pressure from Donald Trump to “go after” the cartels.
“World Cup fans spend thousands as cartel violence and missing persons haunt host city Guadalajara.”
Against this backdrop, fans are spending eye-watering sums to attend the tournament. Morten Oftedal, a Norwegian living in Atlanta, bought three tickets for Norway v Iraq in Massachusetts for $380 (£282) each, used 180,000 frequent flyer points for flights, booked a hotel room for two nights at over $1,100, and will pay $80 per person for stadium transport. In total, he will spend roughly $4,000 in cash and points for himself, his 82-year-old father and his wife to attend one match. “It’s insane,” he told the BBC. “It’s not really for individuals, it’s for corporate America.”
Iain Bagwell, a 58-year-old Brit living in Atlanta, paid about $1,200 per ticket for category 2 seats to see England v Croatia in Dallas, Texas. “At the time I thought it was like daylight robbery,” he said. “But looking at the way it’s going, and the way that Fifa handled it, it probably wasn’t such a bad deal.” He and his son are camping on the road trip for fun and thrift; after England, they will drive to Kansas City to watch Tunisia v Netherlands for $235 a ticket.
Several other fans told the BBC their costs stretched into the low thousands, but said their love of football and the hope of creating memories eased the sting. Whether the cartel violence will ultimately disrupt the tournament remains an open question – but for now, the fans keep spending.