"FIFA's taken it away from the ordinary fan, and are selling it to the highest bidder." That's not a protest slogan. That's Davie Hood, a Scotland supporter who shelled out $1,800 for three group-stage tickets — and then had to hire a school bus to avoid a $95 train ride.
The 2026 World Cup, spread across 16 cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico, was sold as the most spectacular edition of football's biggest event. Forty-eight teams. 104 games. Over 6 million tickets. What it actually became was the most expensive World Cup in history, driven by FIFA's deployment of demand-driven dynamic pricing — a system that made ticket costs unpredictable, stress-inducing, and eye-watering.
Most tickets start in the hundreds of dollars. The desirable ones climb into the thousands. FIFA offered exactly 1,000 subsidised $60 tickets per match — 104,000 total out of 6 million available. That's not affordability. That's optics.
Legal pressure and hotel ghosts
The backlash got serious enough that the New York and New Jersey attorneys general served FIFA with subpoenas this week, demanding transparency over its sales tactics. "No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats," said New York AG Letitia James. FIFA declined to comment.
President Gianni Infantino's response has been essentially: the market set the price, not us. Better FIFA captures the revenue than ticket touts, he argues. And by his own numbers, it's working — FIFA has sold 90% of available tickets and is targeting a record $11 billion in total revenue, with $2.7 billion earmarked for redistribution to its 211 member associations over the next four years. That distribution figure has grown eightfold under Infantino's decade in charge. He's up for re-election next year. Those 211 associations each carry one vote. The maths writes itself.
But the fan squeeze doesn't stop at ticket prices. Hood and thousands of fellow Scotland fans, priced out of Boston hotels, relocated to Providence, Rhode Island, and organised bus convoys to Foxborough. New Jersey initially tried to charge $150 for a train ride from New York City to MetLife Stadium — a journey that normally costs $12.90 — before settling on $98 after public outcry. Meanwhile, 80% of hoteliers in host cities report bookings tracking below forecast, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association. Visa barriers and geopolitical tensions are suppressing international travel. Dozens of games still have unsold seats.
A World Cup built for the war chest
The choice of the United States as primary host was never just about football. When the hosting rights were awarded in 2018, FIFA saw the buying power of the world's wealthiest consumer market and designed a revenue strategy around it. Premium event spending in the US surged post-pandemic. FIFA was ready.
The tournament's sheer geography complicates things further. Germany, for example, plays group-stage games in Houston, Toronto, and New Jersey — three cities that require significant travel even within a single tournament phase. Fans following one team across three venues are looking at a logistical and financial undertaking that goes well beyond ticket prices.
- Over 6 million tickets available; 90% sold according to FIFA
- FIFA's revenue target: a record $11 billion
- Planned global redistribution: $2.7 billion over four years
- Subsidised $60 tickets: just 1,000 per game, 104,000 total
- 80% of host-city hoteliers reporting bookings below forecast
- NJ train surcharge: $12.90 standard fare spiked to $150, settled at $98
FIFA's official line is that it is "fulfilling its statutory objectives" by investing in football development. That may be technically true. It's also true that the organisation has turned its flagship event into a premium product that prices out the type of fan who travels with a school bus and books a room in Providence to make the numbers work. "Any claims to the contrary are baseless," a FIFA spokesman said. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey apparently disagree.
