The prices of tickets and their sale are the hot topic for fans at this World Cup. Shortly before the start of the tournament, FIFA may have gambled away with the prizes for some games.
“Every game is sold out”FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in February. He also referred to the 104 games of the 2026 World Cup as “104 Super Bowls”. FIFA celebrated itself for the more than 500 million ticket requests it said it had received – when there were only just over seven million tickets for sale.
However, there are among the “104 Super Bowls” some where the rather small teams are among themselves and many fans show little interest.
Economist: “FIFA miscalculated”
There are still numerous tickets available for games such as Saudi Arabia against Cape Verde, Austria against Jordan or Uzbekistan against DR Congo. FIFA simply misjudged games like these, says economist Florian Ederer in an interview with Sportschau. The native Austrian, who teaches at Boston University, has been monitoring the world association’s ticket sales for months.
The economist Florian Ederer from Boston University
“The prices were very high and continue to be relatively high”says Ederer in an interview with Sportschau, “Because with this dynamic pricing adjustment it actually only goes up and only very rarely goes down. And there are some problems with actually getting all the cards to the fans.”
Reminder of 9 euro tickets for the Club World Cup
At the Club World Cup, some games took place in half-empty stadiums. In the semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense, prices fell to 9 euros. At some games, parts of the upper tier were closed due to lack of interest. “FIFA has learned from this fiasco”says Ederer.
Empty seats at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the Chelsea vs LAFC game
What’s currently happening at the World Cup: Although FIFA has its own resale platform on which it takes 15 percent of the sales price as a fee from both the buyer and the seller, tickets are appearing en masse on other ticket platforms. Numerous tickets for such games have recently been listed on the resale platform “Seatgeek” – a type of black market that is legally permissible in the USA – sometimes at significantly lower prices than those sold officially by FIFA.
In addition, several rows of seats with numerous seats next to each other are offered, which speaks against the sale of individual tickets by cardholders who are unable to attend. Ederer suspects a system and that FIFA itself may have provided the cards. FIFA did not comment on a request from Sportschau.
“FIFA appears to have taken good advice on how to squeeze every possible dollar out of sporting events in the US.”says Ederer. “And that works if you keep the prices in the primary market, i.e. on your own platform, relatively high until the end.” By selling the cards cheaper elsewhere, the aim is to avoid having to reduce the prices yourself. Because then fans could wait until the last moment and, like at the Club World Cup, end up getting into the stadium very cheaply.
The upper stands of the stadium in Philadelphia during a Club World Cup game
The first free tickets are distributed
The phenomenon has so far been limited to a few games. The Financial Times reports that there are 180,000 tickets that have not yet been sold, which sounds like a large sum – but with 104 games with almost seven million tickets, it is manageable.
However, for some games the demand is so low that free tickets are already being distributed. The Saudi Arabian Embassy in the USA announced a free ticket promotion aimed at people from Saudi Arabia living in the USA. The same applies to Ghana’s representation in Canada, which is offering tickets for the game against Panama in Toronto. FIFA sponsor Verizon published the impressive number of 2,500 World Cup tickets that it will be giving away among its customers.
Fifa
The venues of the 2026 World Cup
Ederer doesn’t believe that FIFA has to worry about empty rows of seats in the stadiums like at the Club World Cup. After the experience of the Club World Cup, this time the world association will, if in doubt, be willing to invite youth teams or school classes, he says.
Public prosecutors investigate FIFA practices
Infantino repeatedly defended the high ticket prices at the World Cup. These are common in the American market. If they were cheaper, the tickets would be sold for many times more on the legal secondary market in the USA.
Infantino commented at a press conference on the day before the opening of the World Cup that two public prosecutors have now initiated investigations into FIFA and its ticketing practices: “We are very relaxed about this. We check everything we do with the best lawyers. We are happy to disclose everything.” In Europe, the consumer organization Euroconsumers, together with the Football Supporters Europe fan alliance, filed a complaint against FIFA with the European Commission.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Infantino emphasized with regard to the prices: “Every dollar is invested back into football.” The World Cup revenue are Infantino’s instrument of power. Infantino supplies all 211 national associations with money through prize money from the World Cup and payments from FIFA’s development program. The smallest associations are completely dependent on the payments and at the same time have the same voting rights as associations from France, Argentina or Germany.
Infantino is up for re-election in 2027. He is already assured of a majority and no opposing candidate in sight. He denied that he was using the money to secure his power. He has the responsibility to use income to enable investments.