Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is set to kick off next month, soccer fans in the United States and across the world have been expressing outrage over the ticket prices, which are considerably higher than they have been for previous World Cup tournaments. However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has no plans to change those prices, much to the displeasure of fans.
During a recent appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Infantino defended the high ticket prices, claiming 24% of tickets for group stage matches were priced under $300 and claiming that it was impossible to watch a U.S. college game for less than $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, via The Times. “And this is the World Cup.”
This, of course, is completely untrue, even generously assuming Infantino is discussing college football and not college soccer. While the average ticket price of some high-level college football games can indeed exceed $300, that is the exception, not the rule. Tickets for most college football games start at around $30.
As for the implication that professional sporting events are even more expensive, that’s also completely untrue. Major League Baseball tickets can be routinely purchased for under $20 throughout the country. General admission at Major League Soccer matches is typically under $50. Even tickets to NFL games, which are the most in-demand sporting events in the country, typically cost between $156 to $250, according to Statista.
Infantino, however, claimed that if World Cup tickets were sold for too low a price, they would end up being resold anyway. He also added that FIFA was obliged to take advantage of U.S. laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.
“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,” he 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 even addressed the fact that four tickets have been listed on FIFA’s official ticket resale platform for $2.3 million each, claiming that just because they are listed at that price does not mean they will sell.
“If some people put on the resale market some tickets for the final at $2million, number one, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million,” Infantino added. “And number two, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets. And if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2million, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience.”
Needless to say, these comments from Infantino did not go over well with fans, who blasted the FIFA president on social media.
“I’ve been to NHL and NBA playoffs for under $300 per ticket. I’ve been to NFL and College football games for under $300 a ticket. Hell, two years ago I was able to purchase several Copa America match tickets for like $75 each,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“How Infantino manages to embarrass himself further and make Blatter look more palatable in hindsight should not be possible. Generationally awful,” someone else wrote.
“Infantino getting facts wrong and totally out of touch with football fans and fan sentiment. He doesn’t care about football, the fans or even FIFA only himself, he’s a narcissist,” another fan added.
“Just blatantly lying to justify robbing us,” someone else said.
“Even if it were true – how many people going to those college football games are flying halfway around the World to support their team? And how many times do the hotels and transport rates for those matches get hiked up?? He’s defending the indefensible,” another fan wrote.
Despite Infantino defending the prices, even United States President Donald Trump claimed the prices were too high even for him.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.