With World Cup Fan Festival Cancelled, Jersey City Restaurants And Officials React

JERSEY CITY, NJ — After a large World Cup soccer fan festival in Jersey City was canceled last week, a Jersey City restaurant representative said local business owners had mixed feelings.

Eight of the championship World Cup soccer matches will still take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford this coming June through July.

Last month, tickets went on sale for the FIFA Fan Festival to accompany the games. It was billed as "an exciting opportunity to gather to watch World Cup matches, enjoy diverse food offerings from the NYNJ region and experience entertainment and programming." It was to be held at Liberty State Park in Jersey City starting June 11, with tickets under $20 a piece.

Instead, Gov. Mikie Sherrill's office will provide $5 million to fund events throughout the state, state officials announced last Thursday. They hope to fund smaller events, from street fairs to watch parties.

The new initiative aims to "support communities across the state in creating extraordinary fan experiences throughout the World Cup...while investing in small businesses, cultural associations, and community nonprofits."

Melanie Rudin of Jersey City's Restaurant Owners Coalition said the news was hard on local vendors who'd applied to sell at the fan festival.

But she said there are new opportunities to be involved.

"This is a hit for restaurants that responded to the call for applications to be vendors from FIFA World Cup 26 New York and New Jersey months ago and heard nothing," she said. "Those businesses really hoped they could be involved with what, for many, is the dream of a lifetime. There is also a feeling that Jersey City will go from being a part of this destination event to a place to sleep before heading to Manhattan or MetLife."

But, "I've also heard the hope from the restaurant community that organizations will step up to assist in building local events during the games that include opportunities for independently owned restaurants and food businesses to draw some of the attendees to stay and spend in Jersey City."

Jersey City has been named one of the top 11 up-and-coming foodie cities by Food and Wine Magazine.

Mayor Responds

A spokesperson for Jersey City Mayor James Solomon said the cancellation wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

“The governor made the right call," said Nathaniel Styer. "It became increasingly clear that there was no workable, cost-effective way to manage the influx of tens of thousands of fans into Liberty State Park, while maintaining access to the members of the Jersey City community."

He declined to say if Jersey City officials were involved in the decision. But he said the city can still be involved.

He noted, "We are very excited for the opportunities that the World Cup is bringing to Jersey City and we will be rolling out more plans for residents and fans to celebrate this historic event at America’s Golden Doors.”

Sherrill said Thursday, “New Jersey is the beating heart of the 2026 World Cup, and this initiative makes sure that every New Jerseyan — no matter where they live — can be part of this once-in-a-generation moment."

A link to tickets for the event on Ticketmaster now says, "Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event. You don't need to do a thing. We'll issue a refund to the original method of payment used at time of purchase, as soon as funds are received from the Event Organizer. It should appear on your account within 14-21 days."

The FIFA New York New Jersey website still lists Liberty State Park on top, but then refers to fan events in Brooklyn and Queens, for now: https://nynjfwc26.com/fan-festival/

The soccer match schedule is here.