FIFA president shamelessly defended the high World Cup ticket prices

Andrew Joseph, For The WinWed, May 6, 2026 at 7:13 PM UTC

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FIFA president shamelessly defended the high World Cup ticket prices

There is virtually nothing about this summer's World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that has been spared from FIFA's insatiable desire for profits. Even free events have premium upsells. But above all, fans have been furious about the ticket prices.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino sees nothing wrong about that.

Appearing at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Infantino defended the ticket prices as a fair reflection of the U.S. market. He claimed — incorrectly — that it was impossible to attend a college sporting event in the U.S. for less than $300. So, he felt FIFA was justified in price gouging ticket costs to a record level at the World Cup.

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He said via The Guardian:

“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. 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 of our price.”

...

“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.”

It doesn't take much research to point out that the claim was complete nonsense. For Wednesday's MLB slate, the most expensive get-in tickets (Padres vs. Giants) were listed at $15 on the secondary market.

It's that kind of delusion that has contributed to poor ticket sales and unbooked hotels throughout the host cities.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: FIFA president shamelessly defended the expensive World Cup ticket prices

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