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FIFA president Gianni Infantino brushed aside fierce criticism over reports of a single ticket for the 2026 World Cup final exceeding $2 million in price. Should anyone actually shell out that staggering amount, the Swiss executive jokingly pledged to personally hand-deliver them a hot dog.
Controversy has surrounded FIFA's ticket pricing for months. The fact that world soccer's governing body is employing a dynamic pricing model—adjusting costs based on demand—has sparked widespread outrage, while the introduction of an official resale market remains perhaps the most contentious issue.
For the first time in the tournament's 96-year history, FIFA has permitted fans to resell previously purchased tickets at face value for whatever price they choose. The strictly non-profit organization just so happens to pocket 30% of every transaction conducted through their resale platform.
Outrage reached a new peak recently when four tickets for the World Cup final were listed at nearly $2.3 million apiece. Infantino casually dismissed this inflated figure at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills this week.
"If some people put on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2 million, number one, it doesn't mean that the tickets cost $2 million," Infantino explained. "And number two, it doesn't mean that somebody will buy these tickets.
Infantino is technically correct in his claim that no one has to purchase a ticket listed at $2.3 million to attend the World Cup final. There are several alternatives just a short distance away from those astronomical prices, listed around $16,000—which, it should not be forgotten, is still an absurd amount.
Nevertheless, the fact that someone has the legal ability to inflate prices to such a degree—and would be tacitly encouraged by FIFA's president to do so—is far more troubling.
'We Have to'—Gianni Infantino Blames the U.S.
Most tickets fall well short of seven figures, yet the prices being thrown around are still enough to spark global outrage. Compared to the average cost at the five tournaments held between 2006–22, this year's cheapest seats have risen by roughly six times, according to analysis by The Guardian.
Infantino's defense is rooted in circumstance. If the opportunity exists, why not seize it? "We have to look at the market," he reasoned, "we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.
"In the U.S., 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."
The opposing view is that FIFA is not supposed to be in the business of profit, particularly at a tournament as revered as the World Cup. "Before I remember the World Cup—years, years, years ago—was like a celebration of the joy of football for the nations going there," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recently reflected.
"Everyone traveled all around the globe, from the other continents, to see your country, to play there. And it was affordable. Now, [it's] modern times, right? It's so expensive."
That heartfelt sentiment did little to sway Infantino. "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," he argued. "And this is the World Cup."