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 exorbitant ticket prices and matches scattered across cities thousands of kilometres apart. Even the early controversies involving the Iranian team and the Somalian referee have left a bad taste," he said. However, with the tournament now underway, focus is shifting back to the pitch. Minerva Academy, which houses around 400 students, has set up a dedicated hall featuring flags of all 48 participating nations and a master schedule. The academy is screening matches and opening its doors to outside fans. The biggest hurdle for most viewers remains the clock. Matches are scheduled for 12.30am, 3.30am, 6.30am and 9.30am IST. "The timings are highly inconvenient compared to the last World Cup in Qatar, where the schedule aligned closely with Indian Standard Time," said Manish Goel, a partner at Social in Sector 7. Despite the hurdle, Goel confirmed the venue still plans to screen key high-profile clashes. The logistical nightmare is also impacting the local screening circuit. Sidharth Sood, who runs the Chandigarh chapter of the Chelsea Football Club, noted that low demand will keep group-stage screenings minimal, especially with an expanded 48-team format packing the schedule with lower-profile fixtures. "We will screen all matches from the quarter-finals onwards," Sood said. "Because of the timings, there isn't much demand for the early group stages." To compensate, his group is organising local football tournaments on popular turfs in Sectors 27 and 38 to keep the community engaged. Even sporting the team colours has become a luxury. Authentic replica jerseys that previously retailed between Rs.3,500 and Rs.4,000 have jumped to nearly Rs.6,000, while player-edition kits are touching Rs.9,000 across major brands. According to Sood, this price hike has fundamentally shifted consumer behaviour, particularly among school and college students. "Demand is still there, but younger fans are turning to online resellers or buying knockoffs. We're also seeing a new trend where fashion brands take inspiration from official kits to create their own improved, alternative designs," he said. For those still watching, the allegiances in Chandigarh remain firmly split. Millennial fans are sticking with traditional powerhouse Brazil, while the broader fan base is rooting for Argentina and Portugal to catch the twilight eras of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Meanwhile, younger fans are backing Spain and France, drawn to the next generation of superstars like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Kylian Mbappe. Dhruvan Sharma, a fan of Lionel Messi, said he wanted Argentina to lift the World Cup again. "The newly introduced concept of advertising breaks in the guise of drinks breaks is alien to the concept of football. The number of teams has been increased to 48 this year, making it hard to follow all the matches due to odd timings and dilution of competition." Achintya Kaul, a consultant with the Haryana government, said watching all matches was hard. "For school or college students, it is easy to stay up and watch matches at odd hours, but working professionals have morning meetings and other commitments. I wanted to visit the US to watch a few matches, but high ticket prices and other factors have forced me to give up my plan," he said. Ronaq Malhotra, a city-based entrepreneur, feels that people pay more attention to what streamers are saying about the game than watching the game itself. He added that the game has taken a backseat to the global political developments and celebrity culture....