Chandigarh, June 16 -- The FIFA World Cup-traditionally a quadrennial carnival that grips the city with football fever-is off to a muted start in the Chandigarh tricity. While diehard fans are still carving out ways to celebrate, the usual widespread hype is noticeably absent this year, derailed by awkward match timings and soaring costs.

Ranjit Bajaj, the owner of Minerva Punjab FC and Minerva Academy, believes pre-tournament politics and logistics have alienated local audiences. "FIFA has disregarded its Asian fan base by holding the competition in North America," Bajaj said, pointing out that previous iterations saw 15 to 20 fans from the tricity travel to watch the games live.

"This time, they have priced out regular fans with exorb...