Curated road trips, fast-tracked visas await FIFA World Cup fans | Football News

BENGALURU: For those who are preparing to pack their bags to watch the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Lamine Yamal in any of the 11 American cities that will host the World Cup 2026 matches, the Americans are determined to make it football’s best ever showpiece event. Awaiting the fans are fast-tracked visas and curated experiences, including road trips to explore the heart of the US, Route 66 being the most famous of them.The US joins Mexico and Canada to host the FIFA World Cup, the games in the US will begin with the hosts taking on Paraguay in a Group D match in Los Angeles on June 12, day after the tournament kicks off in Mexico City. That will set football (soccer for Americans) rolling across 11 cities for the next one month. The Americans, who put American football, baseball and basketball, above the world’s most popular sport are keen to make it the biggest ever spectacle for the millions of fans offering them an unbelievable time.“From New York to Miami to LA and Seattle, it’s quite a diverse list of host cities. I think each of the host cities are excited to put on a great show, and really engage their communities because it is very much about the communities that are hosting as well. The fan fests are going to be a great way to go beyond the stadium into the community. Local food, culture, music, and engaging with local communities as well. It’s hard to describe how exciting it’s going to be. I think it’s going to be beyond any of our expectations,” Fred Dixon, president and CEO of Brand USA, told TOI in an exclusive interview.Speaking on the sidelines of the Brand USA Travel Week India held here, Dixon said the authorities also plan to make it easy for the spectators to get the US visa. “If you decide to buy tickets to the World Cup and you don’t have your visa yet, there actually is a way to facilitate that process to identify yourself as a ticket holder, and then the State Department will work to facilitate the visa processing faster for those travelers,” Dixon said.Dixon was particularly excited to welcome the Indians travelling for the World Cup. “In places like New Jersey and New York, places like Atlanta and Dallas, Texas, those are obviously big communities. The communities will come to life through the fan fests and so there will be the official fan fest events for every host city. So you’ll be in the communities with the locals or with your friends and the people you’re traveling with. With more than 5 million Indians living in the US, seeking out and traveling with or spending time with family and friends will be a big component of that,” Dixon said.On whether there will be any relaxation for the fans from Haiti and Iran, Dixon didn’t have an answer. “You’d have to check with the State Department,” he said.Route 66For those millions who get entry into the US and the special ones who get lucky through the draw, FIFA said there were 500 million requests for tickets to watch the matches, the US wanted to wow them. On top of the list are the road trips including the iconic Route 66.“It’s a unique moment as well because it’s the 250th anniversary of America. So you have America, 250 activities happening all across the country as well. The other anniversary that’s happening this year is Route 66. It’s the 100th anniversary of the famous highway (opened on Nov 11, 1926) that connects California and Chicago — from Chicago to Santa Monica. It winds through small, interesting towns all across the west of the US. And so you’re going to see a lot of themes around road trips, that freedom of the open road in America. So I think there will be a lot of curated experiences around road trips,” said Dixon.“In the host cities themselves, you’re going to have lots of curated experiences, whether it relates to museums, art, exhibitions. The travelers are going to benefit from the focus on a lot of Americana, both historical, but also what American brands, I think, have meant to the world. The Fleet Week, which is one of the big celebrations in New York every year in the harbour, has been moved from what is normally in late May. It’s now moving to July 4th. So just imagine the Statue of Liberty with fireworks and all the Navy fleets, you know. It’s expected to have the largest gathering of tall ships in the world for America 250, which will travel up the east coast of the US. So there is an unlimited amount of curated experiences to have,” Dixon added.

AI to help with planning itineraries“At americathebeautiful.com, we actually have AI integration to help with trip inspiration, particularly when you are dealing with an event that is multi-city, multi-date. We know what the group schedule will be, but as teams advance beyond the group, who’s going to the quarterfinals, who’s going to the semifinals, how would you route yourself? The itineraries may be dynamic if you’re following a particular team. And so our new website has an AI component built into it to help with itinerary suggestions and plannings and ideas.“You also can integrate what your passion points are. So if it’s culture, if it’s history and food, it will help give you highlights and ideas for how you can route yourself. It’s not a booking platform, but it’s an inspiration platform. We’ve used AI in a way to help tap into really what is the best of America, and then to inspire travelers to travel, you know, far and to travel deep when they’re in the US to explore the World cup, specifically,” Dixon signed off.