The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, has begun with intense financial controversy. Fan groups have branded the ticket prices as “outrageous”, with some prices reportedly three times higher than those seen at the previous edition of the tournament.
There is no doubt that the 2026 World Cup will attract millions of fans as it has always been, however, that does not mean that ticket prices are increasingly expensive and that for a fan it is so difficult to attend the event. In response to complaints, it was Gianni Infantino who came out to defend the prices and explained the sales process.
Gianni Infantino justifies high ticket prices for 2026 World Cup
Despite criticism, FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the pricing structure during the World Sports Summit in Dubai. The executive argued that global interest justifies the current figures:
“We have between six and seven million tickets for sale and in 15 days we have received 150 million requests,” Infantino said, stressing that they receive 10 million requests a day.
Without FIFA there would be no football in 150 countries around the world… this revenue that we generate… we reinvest it all over the world
The president highlighted the tournament’s historic growth by noting that “in almost 100 years of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total. So in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups.”
A small “victory” for the fans
guaranteeing that a percentage of tickets (approximately 10% of the allocation per country) will be sold at reduced prices$60
was set for this entry level across all 104 matches in the tournament, including the grand final.
The truth is that this small help will be useful for those fans who want to follow their team all the way to the World Cup, but there will be several fans who are looking for more specific matches and seeing the prices, they will think twice before buying a ticket and starting an expensive adventure
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