FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the high ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, saying they are in line with the prices of sporting events in the US.
FIFA has found itself in recent months the target of criticism because of expensive tickets for the tournament that starts on June 11, but Infantino claims that the market determines the prices and that resales have further increased the amounts.
It’s in the US ticket resale allowed. If the initial prices were too low, tickets would later be sold at much higher prices. Even now, although some say that our prices are high, on the resale market they reach more than double the amountInfantino said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
An example of this can be seen on to Ticketmasterwhere tickets for the group game between the USA and Australia on June 19 in Seattle reached sky-high prices.
The cheapest package of two tickets on Wednesday night was 2725 dollarsof which $2,290 went to the tickets themselves, and more than $435 to fees. Just half an hour later, the price had risen to nearly $2,771 for seats high up in the upper bleachers at Lumen Field.
FIFA on its own resale platform takes a 15 percent fee from the buyer and an additional 15 percent from the seller tickets.
Despite the criticism, Infantino believes that the prices are not excessive.
A quarter of the tickets for the group matches can be purchased for less than $300. In the US, you can’t even watch a college game, let alone a top professional sport, for less than $300. And this is the World Cupsaid the FIFA president.
Additional attention was also caused by the information that last month four tickets for the World Championship finals in East Rutherford, New Jersey were offered for almost 2.3 million dollars each.
If someone puts tickets for the final on the resale market for two million dollarsit does not mean that the tickets are worth that much or that anyone will buy themInfantino said.
At the end, he joked:
If someone buys a ticket to the final for two million dollars, I will personally buy it for them bring hot dogs and Coca-Cola to make sure they have a great experience.
(Hina | Photo: X)
