FIFA President Gianni Infantino just delivered the news that no World Cup fan wanted to hear. He confirmed that ticket resellers are going to cause a massive surge in prices for the upcoming tournament. The competition will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada in just over four months.
According to The Daily Mail, Infantino spoke at the World Economic Forum on Friday afternoon and explained that reselling tickets on platforms is “perfectly legal” under US law. This means FIFA has no choice but to “of course allow that.” He warned that the tickets, which will require a draw due to overwhelming interest, will “probably be resold at even higher prices.”
The current resale prices are absolutely jaw-dropping. For the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, the most expensive ticket listed hit $230,000. Even the cheapest Category 1 ticket for the final is listed at $16,998, while face value was only expected to range from $4,000 to $8,000.
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The resale market has turned ticket prices into mortgage payments
The crazy prices aren’t just for the final either. If you wanted to catch the United States’ first game against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, resale Category 1 tickets currently range between $3,677 and $100,756. FIFA reportedly gets a 30 percent cut of any sale made on its own resale platform.
Infantino tried to soften the blow by pointing to the unprecedented demand. He noted that in almost 100 years of World Cup history, FIFA had sold around 50 million tickets in total. He then revealed that “for this World Cup in four weeks [on sale], we have the request for 1,000 years of World Cups at once.”
He also mentioned that in a 15-day period, the organization received 150 million ticket requests. Every single one of the 104 matches is expected to sell out. While sports fans deal with ticket price chaos, a Dodgers pitcher’s personal family matter recently kept him away from the World Series. This marks a shift from his earlier defense of high prices back in December.
At that time, he argued that the massive revenues generated would be pumped back into the sport globally. He stressed that these profits are critical, saying, “Without FIFA there would be no football in 150 countries in the world.” He stated that the money from the World Cup allows the organization to reinvest in the sport across the globe.
Despite the intense backlash over the high costs, FIFA did guarantee one small bit of relief. They promised that around 10 percent of the total allocation for each participating nation would be available at a reduced cost of $61. Major sporting events continue making headlines, including Bad Bunny’s rumored Super Bowl outfit causing buzz online. However, with demand this high and resellers ready to pounce, getting those cheap tickets will be extremely difficult.
Published: Jan 24, 2026 12:45 pm