The president of , , stated this Monday (29) that high demand justifies the ticket prices for . “In recent days, the debate over ticket prices has been intense,” said Infantino. “We will have 6 to 7 million people in the stadiums. In two weeks, we received 150 million ticket requests. That is, 10 million requests every day.
FIFA has been the target of harsh criticism due to ticket prices, after a sharp increase in prices starting with the 2022 Qatar Cup. Unlike other editions, in which prices for matches were fixed and announced in advance by the entity, the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico places several barriers to prevent transparency for fans.
Tickets for the final can cost up to US$6,370 (around R$34,000), and the average price for the group stage varies between US$200 and US$300 (R$1,000 and R$1,600). In addition to the decider, in New Jersey, the opening match (Mexico City) and the semifinals (Dallas and Atlanta) offer the most expensive tickets. The prices were revealed by the website The Athletic.
FIFA has released a very limited number of cheaper tickets for the federations of classified countries. Infantino acknowledged the criticism when speaking at the summit in Dubai, but highlighted the enormity of the event. “It’s World Cup year. We all know what that means,” he said. “48 teams participating, 48 countries, a quarter of the world. 104 matches, 104 SuperBowls in one month to determine who will be the world champion. This demonstrates the power of the World Cup.”
The FIFA president revealed that the greatest demand comes from the USA, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. “If we think that in the almost 100-year history of the World Cup, FIFA has sold a total of 44 million tickets, then, in two weeks to the next one, we could have filled the equivalent of 300 years of World Cups. It’s absolutely unbelievable. And most importantly, the revenue generated will be reinvested in sport around the world.”
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
