Infantino Defends FIFA's World Cup Ticket Pricing Strategy

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, defended the pricing of World Cup tickets during a speech at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. He insisted that FIFA's pricing structure is influenced by market demand, particularly in the U.S., where ticket resale prices can exceed face value.

Infantino faced criticism from football supporters, particularly the Football Supporters Europe (FSE), which labeled the pricing as extortionate and a betrayal. He noted that FIFA's own resale website had tickets for the July 19 final in New York listed at $2 million, clarifying that this figure does not imply that tickets actually cost that much.

Infantino justified the steep increase in ticket prices, stating that FIFA received over 500 million requests for tickets for the 2026 World Cup, a significant rise compared to the combined 50 million requests for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. He also mentioned that ticket prices for the group phase increased by 25 percent, with some tickets priced at $300.