FIFA president reveals why World Cup tickets are so expensive — because they can be

FIFA President Gianni Infantino responded to concerns about high ticket prices for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup and said that he believes tickets have to be at least somewhat expensive.

Infantino spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on May 5 and commented on news stories that have shown massive ticket resale prices, sometimes reaching millions of dollars.

World Cup tickets have quickly spiraled out of control and reached heights of more than $2 million.

With around 500 million ticket requests for the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Infantino boasted that 25% of the tickets available for the World Cup group stage can be bought for less than $300. However, when it comes to the massive average price — around $1,600, according to YNet — Infantino said it isn’t wise to sell tickets at low prices.

“I think there are certain elements that we need to understand,” he said at the conference.

“We are in a market which — in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.”

The FIFA boss further justified the prices by saying that if ticket prices are too low, they will be resold for even more than they are currently.

“In the U.S., it is permitted to resell tickets as well,” Infantino explained. “So if you were to sell tickets at a price which is too low, these tickets would be resold at a much higher price.”

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Infantino’s claims have been tested to at least some degree, and while common sense suggests that a lower initial price results in a lower resale price, higher ticket prices arguably give less incentive for resellers to scoop up tickets if the cost is already near market value. In that regard, the effort to resell would not be worth a slimmer profit margin.

Lower prices, whether they be for hype or for fan appreciation, tend to result in resales that more accurately represent market value. However, higher initial prices definitely allow vendors to take a larger cut of the profits that they would not otherwise get.

The logic gets very complex, and even a massive study by the FTC, which looked at concert ticket sales for 18 top artists, still wrote, “None yet,” as their conclusion.

Whatever the right formula is, World Cup tickets have quickly spiraled out of control and reached heights of more than $2 million.

According to Forbes, tickets for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., are being resold for up to $2,299,998.85 per ticket. These prices exist on FIFA’s own resale website, on which the organization takes a 15% fee from both buyers and sellers.

“It doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million,” Infantino explained.

“It doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets. Actually, if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke,” he joked.

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CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images

Tickets to matches like Iraq vs. Norway in Foxborough, Mass., on June 16 are still selling for more than $9,844 at the time of this writing, while resellers for United States vs. Australia in Seattle on June 19 are asking for up to $25,000.

The executive said his tickets were still priced better than the average U.S. college sports event.

“You cannot go to watch, in the U.S., a college game — not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level — for less than $300. And this is the World Cup,” he added.

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