FIFA chief Infantino defends World Cup ticket prices

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended World Cup ticket prices, insisting that football’s global governing body was obliged to take advantage of laws in the United States that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.

Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Infantino said the eye-watering prices reflected demand to watch the World Cup.

FIFA has faced searing criticism over the cost of World Cup tickets, with fan organisation Football Supporters Europe (FSE) branding the pricing structure “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal”.

FSE filed a lawsuit with the European Commission in March targeting FIFA over “excessive ticket prices” for the tournament.

FIFA’s own World Cup resale website, FIFA Marketplace, last week advertised four tickets to the July 19 final in New York at a cost of more than $2m each.

“If some people put on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2m, number one, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2m,” Infantino said.

“And number two, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets,” Infantino said. “And if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2m, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience.”

INTERACTIVE-Football FIFA Teams that have qualified for the World Cup 2026-1776671102 — (Al Jazeera)

Fan groups have contrasted the difference in price of tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

The most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was about $1,600 at face value, while in 2026, the most expensive ticket for the final is about $11,000 at its original price.

Infantino was adamant that the steep increase in face-value prices was justified.

“We have to look at the market – we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said.

“In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.

“And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.”

Infantino said that FIFA received in excess of 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under $300.

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

However, FIFA has struggled to sell out games, including host nation USA’s opener against Paraguay.

Seats remain available for most group-stage games, albeit at exorbitant prices.

Tickets for USA vs Paraguay start at $1,120 and go as high as $4,105, with many tickets priced at about $2,000 for the June 12 match in Los Angeles. Seats in the hospitality package groupings go as high as $6,050 per seat.

Tickets are still available on FIFA’s official website through its “last-minute sales” section.

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