Trump and Infantino
Bolatito Mercy
FIFA president *Gianni Infantino* has pushed back against mounting criticism over 2026 World Cup ticket prices, saying the costs reflect market demand in the U.S. and are necessary under American resale laws. He made the remarks on May 5, 2026, at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
The backlash intensified after FIFA’s official resale platform, *FIFA Marketplace*, listed four tickets for the July 19 final in New York at more than *$2 million each*. Fan groups called the pricing “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal,” with Football Supporters Europe filing a lawsuit with the European Commission in March over what it described as excessive pricing.
Infantino dismissed the $2 million listings as misleading. “If some people put tickets on the resale market for $2 million, number one it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million,” he said. “And number two it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets.” In a lighter moment, he added that if anyone does pay that amount, “I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience.”
He argued that FIFA has to “apply market rates” because the U.S. is the world’s most developed entertainment market, and U.S. law permits tickets to be resold at much higher prices. If FIFA set prices too low, he said, those tickets would simply end up on the secondary market at an even greater markup, with FIFA seeing no revenue from it. FIFA takes a *30% cut* from every transaction on its resale platform.
Infantino also pointed to overall demand, noting FIFA has received *more than 500 million ticket requests* for 2026 compared to fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. He said 25% of group-stage tickets are priced under $300, and that the most expensive face-value ticket for the final is about $11,000, up from around $1,600 in Qatar in 2022.
The comments haven’t calmed fan anger. Football Supporters Europe has accused FIFA of prioritizing profit over accessibility, while some outlets have criticized Infantino’s comparison of World Cup tickets to U.S. college sports tickets, which he claimed cost at least $300. Ticket data from sites like SeatGeek show college games can start as low as $30.
FIFA introduced a *dynamic pricing model* this year that adjusts prices based on demand, and also launched its own resale marketplace for the first time to compete with third-party sites like StubHub and SeatGeek. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19 across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
