For many Kenyan football fans, the World Cup is a lifelong dream. Flags on your shoulders, songs in your throat, and history unfolding in front of your eyes.
But when the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, that dream will hit a wall long before flights, tickets, or hotels come into play. That wall is the U.S. visa.
For Kenyan citizens, entering the United States is never guaranteed. In the 2024 fiscal year, Kenya’s visa refusal rate was 63.32 percent. That means nearly two out of every three applicants were turned away.
The visa application fee alone costs about Ksh 24,000. It is nonrefundable and guarantees nothing. Every year, thousands of Kenyans lose this money without ever setting foot in an airport departure lounge.
Wambui Wakathare knows this reality all too well. She paid Ksh 28,000 for her visa application in late 2023, only to be denied in December. She says her documents were barely reviewed.
“My experience with this embassy was dehumanizing, humiliating, horrendous, and torturous,” she said, describing a process that demanded intimate personal details before ending in rejection.
Her story mirrors many others. Numerous Kenyans report being denied visa despite having stable jobs, families, travel history, and complete documentation. Some say they are rejected before they even finish answering questions.
This makes visa the single biggest obstacle for any World Cup plan. It is the gatekeeper. If it says no, the journey ends there.
For those lucky enough to secure a visa, the financial burden remains heavy. The tournament will be held in sixteen cities—eleven in the U.S., three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
The final will take place at MetLife Stadium in New York and New Jersey. A round-trip economy flight from Nairobi to major U.S. host cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, or Atlanta is currently estimated to cost between KSh 130,000 and KSh 220,000. With global demand rising, these prices are expected to spike during the tournament.
Match tickets follow. Group stage tickets are projected to range from about Ksh 23,000 to over Ksh 90,000 per match, depending on seat category and demand.
As expected, knockout matches and the final will cost even more. Accommodation is another challenge. Hotels near the host cities are already tightening, with nightly rates expected to range from Ksh 19,000 to over Ksh 75,000 around match dates.
Daily expenses such as food, local transport, and basic movement can easily add up to between Ksh 6,500 and Ksh 13,000 per day.
A reasonable budget for a Kenyan fan attending three group stage matches over roughly 11 days is about Ksh 573,000. This includes flights, mid-range accommodation, tickets, meals, and local transportation.
But fans aiming higher will see costs skyrocket. Following a team deeper into the tournament involves domestic flights between host cities, costing roughly Ksh 15,000 to Ksh 45,000 per leg, longer hotel stays, and knockout tickets that can double or triple in price. Staying through the semifinals or final could easily push the total beyond Ksh 1.5 million.
Yet even if they have KSh 1.5 million, a job letter, and return tickets booked, the harsh reality is that most Kenyan applicants will never get the chance to spend that money in America.
