The FIFA Club World Cup ushered in a new era of the competition through its North American edition this year. From moving to a four-year cycle to becoming a truly international contest with 32 teams from all six global federations (AFC, CAF, Concacaf, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA) taking part, it was a grand event. However, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, it was just a trailer.

“I’m having a really great time. Tremendous sport,” POTUS Donald Trump said after attending the finale at MetLife Stadium. Now, NJ Transit is planning its most ambitious move to accommodate the far larger crowd that will attend the eight World Cup games at MetLife. That’s because projections indicate that just those eight matches will eclipse NFL records at the venue.

Yes! You read that right. While the NFL is among the juggernauts of American sports, just the international crowd set to arrive on US shores will need NJ to reimagine its transit situation. And that’s exactly what NJ Transit is planning to do. The Berger Record’s Colleen Wilson reported that the agency is about to pour $100 million into revamping the bus service for the FIFA World Cup.

The plans include improving the current bus service and the construction of a temporary bus station at MetLife Stadium. “10 sawtooth-patterned stalls for boarding and an area where 80 buses can wait nearby,” Colleen Wilson wrote in her report. The journalist also added that most buses will be high-capacity, two-door, 60-foot vehicles.

These buses can load about 100 people in a minute and a half. While single-door buses will also be part of the fleet, the bigger vehicles will make up the majority. Now that’s something that even record-holding NFL games, including the 82,529 crowd that filled the stadium to watch the 2014 NFL game.

In fact, the very first edition of the Club World Cup at MetLife gave that record a run for its money as 81,118 fans packed the stadium to watch the Chelsea vs. Paris Saint-Germain final. What’s more? NJ Transit’s $100 million boost is only the tip of the iceberg for investment to manage the 2026 FIFA World Cup crowd.

The FIFA World Cup is set to generate billions

The biggest soccer event in the world is set to provide a massive boost to the economy of the two cities. In fact, it may generate more than the 160 (Jets and Giants) home games in the last 10 years. Experts believe the 48-team tournament across the US, Canada, and Mexico will draw the biggest crowd in FIFA World Cup history.

Of that crowd, a projection report co-authored by Tourism Economics, a peer-reviewed journal owned by Oxford Economics, expects a footfall of about 1.2 million people. The revenue generated will be around $3.3 billion. That’s more than the estimated $3.2 billion that the NFL games have generated in the last decade. Naturally, the revamping won’t stop with a bus network.

The Berger Record report explains that trains will also join the buses to increase the capacity to move fans to and from MetLife Stadium. The 2014 Super Bowl had stressed the system beyond its breaking point. While experts estimated 12,000 people an hour for that 2014 game, 35,000 people overwhelmed the subway system, leading to chaos and overcrowding.

Naturally, these numbers are set to explode during next year’s FIFA World Cup. While the plan to expand the train system the 2014 crowding went nowhere, increased trains and buses should do the trick. NJ Transit plans to increase the combined capacity to 20,000 per for 2026. Thankfully, things looked good for the historic Club World Cup, as the city’s systems handled 14,000/hour with ease. However, only time will tell if NJ Transit holds up or cracks under the pressure of the biggest World Cup ever.