The president of FIFA (International Football Federation), Gianni Infantino, stated that the high price of tickets for sporting events in the United States justifies the prices charged for next month’s World Cup, citing the high demand for tickets in the resale market.
Football’s governing body has received 500 million requests for tickets to the tournament and media reports last month indicated that some tickets for the final, scheduled for July 19 in New Jersey, are being resold for more than US$2 million (R$9.8 million) each.
“If some people put tickets to the final on a secondary resale market for $2 million, first of all, that doesn’t mean the ticket costs $2 million,” Infantino said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
“Secondly, it doesn’t mean anyone is going to buy these tickets. In fact, if someone buys a ticket for $2 million, I’ll bring them a hot dog and a Coke myself to make sure they have a great experience.”
Ticket prices for the World Cup held in the United States, Canada and Mexico have seen a considerable increase compared to the 2022 edition in Qatar. Tickets for the final in July range from US$2,030 (R$10,000) to US$6,370 (R$31,400), significantly more expensive than those for the final in Doha, which cost US$206 (R$1,014) to US$1,607 (R$7,900).
FIFA has received requests from several groups to reduce ticket prices, including from dozens of American parliamentarians.
Due to the negative reaction to prices, FIFA introduced a small number of tickets priced at US$60 (R$295), located in the upper corners of the stadiums, in limited numbers compared to the other categories.
“We are in a market where entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market prices,” said Infantino.
“In the United States, resale of tickets is also allowed. If you sold tickets at a very low price, they would be resold at a much higher price. We have 25% of tickets for group stage games that can be bought for less than US$300. In the United States, you cannot watch a college game of a certain level for less than US$300. And we are talking about the World Cup.”
