Every four years, men’s soccer fever grips the globe with the FIFA World Cup.

The largest World Cup ever — 48 teams and 104 matches — returns to the United States, as well as Mexico and Canada, beginning Thursday and running through July 19.

Boston will serve as a host city, prompting a simple but hard-to-answer question: Will Maine reap economic benefits from the tournament?

“We’ve heard rumblings more than we’ve seen it,” acknowledged Scott Vogel, the board chairman of HospitalityMaine, which promotes the state’s hospitality sector.

Vogel owns the 16-room Trident Inn and three restaurants, all in Ogunquit. June and July are always prime months for tourism businesses in Maine. Vogel said his inn is already well above 80% occupancy during the period when the World Cup will play out across the 16 North American host cities. That level of bookings is typical for a Maine summer, Vogel said. He doesn’t know if any of his future guests have soccer plans included in their Maine vacations.

“Once we get to that time frame we’ll hear more from people staying with us if it’s World Cup related,” Vogel said.

There is belief that international and domestic travelers who attend a match at the temporarily renamed “Boston Stadium,” in Foxborough, Massachusetts, will find their way to Maine. FIFA, soccer’s iron-fisted governing body, won’t allow stadium sponsor names to be used unless they are a partner with FIFA. Gillette Stadium, the New England Patriots’ home field, is not.

But an overflow effect from Foxborough is far from a certainty, because there are indicators that the World Cup may be more bust than boom for entities not directly tied to FIFA.

A survey released by the American Hotel and Lodging Association suggests room sales are lagging both the initial forecasts and normal June and July summer demand in nine of the 11 host cities in the U.S.

“Host markets, including Boston … show similarly limited World Cup impact,” the report stated, “with nearly 80% of respondents reporting booking pace below expectations and behind a typical summer.”

Many respondents to the AHLA survey described the World Cup as a “non-event.”

Travel bans and perceptions of visa delays, combined with increased travel costs driven by soaring gas and jet fuel prices, are impacting attendance, according to the AHLA report.

The Maine Office of Tourism, Film, and Outdoor Recreation saw the appeal of soccer when it signed on as the front-of-jersey sponsor for the Portland Hearts of Pine, Maine’s third-tier men’s professional team.

The state-funded office has been “leveraging the World Cup” to international trade and media partners to promote Maine as an add-on vacation destination for fans coming to America and especially Boston, Carolann Ouellette, the agency’s director, said in a statement.

The statement acknowledged that, “There remains a risk that the event does not meet the high expectations set.”

The office declined, through its public relations firm Marshall Communications, multiple requests to discuss the World Cup’s economic impact in Maine.

WILL COST COOL ENTHUSIASM?

The interest in soccer in Maine has exploded in the last two or three years, thanks in large part to the Hearts of Pine. The second-year franchise has sold out every home match at Fitzpatrick Stadium.

But the Hearts of Pine players, including several from countries that will participate in the 2026 World Cup, are like most Americans. They say they can’t afford a World Cup ticket.

“There’s a couple of games in Boston but tickets are just so expensive, so it’s almost impossible to go,” said Ollie Wright, the Hearts of Pine’s leading all-time scorer, who is from London.

“You do feel that excitement for the World Cup, but at the same time there hasn’t been as much as I thought there would be,” added Mikey Lopez, the Hearts’ captain who played for the United States in the U-20 World Cup in 2013.

“People that would want to experience it can’t afford it,” Lopez said. “Hopefully, that doesn’t put a dent in the excitement and the potential boost of the game here, but it definitely doesn’t help.”

The lowest price tickets for group stage games started at $300. According to a recent Forbes.com article, listed resale prices fell 23% in April through mid-May. But they are hardly affordable.

The average ticket price across all U.S. venues on the resale market was $558. Prices at Foxborough are trending significantly higher. If Wright wanted to see England play Ghana on June 23, for instance, the cheapest seat listed on StubHub on Tuesday morning was $816.

The stadium’s location, with decreased parking available compared to a Patriots’ game or major concert, adds further logistical difficulty and expense.

PROBABLE BENEFICIARIES

The businesses surest to benefit from the World Cup will be popular soccer bars, like Rí Rá and The Zoo in Portland. They do good business any time an important soccer match is televised. With World Cup matches airing for over five weeks, a random Tuesday lunch can become a must-see TV date for footy fans.

Spencer Brantley, Rí Rá’s managing partner, said all 104 matches will be televised at his Commercial Street Irish pub, which is celebrating its 25th year in Portland. There will be special promotions and giveaways, including an online World Cup Selector that will earn one Portland resident $1,000.

The Amtrak Downeaster has 10 daily routes from Brunswick to Boston’s North Station and expects to see a ridership boost, said Natalie Bogart, the deputy director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which operates the Downeaster.

Whether the potential rider is a Maine resident or visitor, the Downeaster can help someone attending the World Cup avoid the parking and driving headaches, though train travel has its own logistical and cost hurdles.

The Downeaster route to North Station is set at its regular price (about $70 round-trip for a Portland to Boston coach seat $90 for business class if available). Then comes a trip to South Station, which requires a taxi (Bogart’s recommendation), Uber, or a two-stop MBTA jaunt. From South Station, an $80 round-trip train (normally $20 for New England Patriots games) gets someone to and from Foxborough.

The return trip to Portland will take until 1 a.m. the next day. “My instinct would be that people would spring for accommodations,” in Boston, Bogart said.

Bogart predicts increased ridership will also result from Mainers who want to get to FIFA-sponsored Fan Festivals happening in Boston.

And she hopes some soccer fans from away will spend time in Maine.

“It’s a real opportunity to attend a match and then extend that to a Maine vacation experience. It’s a natural fit for those who are very familiar with rail travel,” Bogart said.

COULD MAINE BE A BARGAIN?

If cost-conscious travelers were savvy, and booked early, they would have found the cost savings of staying near a beach in York County would have easily offset the price and hassle of getting to a match.

For instance, Scotland plays two games in Foxborough, Saturday vs. Haiti, and June 19 vs. Morocco. In early May, homes close to the stadium were listing for greater than $10,000 on Airbnb for an eight-night stay from June 12-20. At the same time, there were plenty of York County options for the same time, many at Long or Short Sands in York, for under $2,000.

By Tuesday, the cost differential had shrunk. Many Massachusetts properties indicated price reductions and the top-end sites were off the market. In York County, fewer options are listed, particularly near the coast, and prices have increased in general.

Vogel’s Trident Inn is one location that could not meet a hypothetical Scottish traveler’s needs. The inn is booked for several of those nights. Maybe some guests are heading to Boston or Foxborough. Vogel just doesn’t know. But he did agree that the early price difference could have drawn a World Cup watcher to coastal Maine, adding, “It’s not a crazy drive,” to get to greater Boston.

If that happens, then ancillary businesses benefit, from an entertainment venue like the Ogunquit Playhouse and Vogel’s piano bar The Front Porch and breakfast restaurant CREW OGT.

Portland Downtown plans to bring World Cup excitement to Monument Square. Pairing with the Hearts of Pine, Portland Downtown will host a big-screen showing of the June 19 (3 p.m.) USA vs. Australia game in Monument Square, pending permit approval by FIFA. A similar event for a USA vs. England match in November 2022 drew 1,500 fans.

“It’s no charge. Everyone can come and enjoy themselves,” said Cary Tyson, Portland Downtown’s executive director.

Tyson said the day, which will include showing the Hearts of Pine game at 7 p.m., should be a boon for the downtown restaurants and businesses and a fun way to celebrate the global game.

Will it produce a significant boost to revenues, compared to a normal Friday afternoon and evening in mid-June in Portland? Call it a definite maybe.