Thursday, February 12, 2026 - Ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup have skyrocketed on FIFA’s official resale platform, with seats for many matches listed at several times their face value even though most tickets have only recently been distributed following the end of the main sales phase in January.
Weeks after FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned that
tickets made available on resale sites were likely to come with an exorbitant
price tag, those fears have come to pass on world football’s own platform.
As of Wednesday, a “category three” seat — the highest
section of the stands — for the tournament’s opening game between Mexico and
South Africa at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on June 11 was listed at $5,324,
compared to an original price of $895.
One category three seat for the World Cup final on July 19
at East Rutherford, New Jersey, meanwhile, was being advertised for an
eye-watering $143,750 — more than 41 times its original face value of $3,450.
The cheapest available ticket for the final on the resale
site was listed at $9,775.
In a few rare cases, though, some ticket prices have
actually decreased. One ticket for Austria’s group game with Jordan at the
Levi’s Stadium in California — which hosted Sunday’s Super Bowl — is being
offered at $552 despite costing its original buyer $620.
For football fans around the world, some of the prices on
FIFA’s resale site are confirmation of what they have railed against since the
tournament draw in December.
“These exorbitant prices unfortunately don’t surprise me. It
reflects what we know and what we fight against: many people buy to resell,”
Guillaume Aupretre, spokesperson for the France national team supporters group
“Irresistibles Francais”, which has nearly 2,500 members.
“In the end, who pays the price? The passionate fans who end
up with outrageous offers. We would prefer that this benefit real fans who come
to support their team, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.”
Yet despite the steep price tag, sales remain brisk,
reflecting a global clamour that has seen some 500 million requests for tickets
according to FIFA.
* ‘Monumental betrayal’ –
While its resale platform benefits from FIFA’s endorsement,
the football body specifies in its terms of sale that it acts only as a
facilitator — for a 15% fee — in this fan-to-fan market, and that resellers are
the ones who determine ticket prices.
“Generally speaking, the pricing model adopted for FIFA
World Cup 26 reflects the existing market practice for major entertainment and
sporting events within our hosts on a daily basis, soccer included,” FIFA said
in a statement.
“This is also a reflection of the treatment of the secondary
market for tickets, which has a distinct legal treatment than in many other
parts of the world. We are focused on ensuring fair access to our game for
existing but also prospective fans.”
The resale market is unregulated in the United States and
Canada. In Mexico, reselling a ticket above face value is prohibited, but only
when the ticket is purchased in Mexico using the local currency.
Ticketing has become one of the most controversial issues
surrounding the World Cup, with fan groups around the world such as Football
Supporters Europe accusing FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” over pricing.
That in turn prompted FIFA to introduce a tiny sliver of
tickets priced at $60 for official supporters groups. Critics maintain the
cut-price category does not go far enough in addressing the problem.
FIFA meanwhile has been notifying applicants since February
5 whether they have obtained tickets during the second sales phase, which ended
in January.
A final “last-minute” sales phase, from April until the end
of the competition, will be organised on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
During these sales phases, FIFA states that it applies
“variable pricing” whereby prices fluctuate “according to demand and
availability” for each match.
However, it emphasises that it does not apply “a dynamic
pricing model (…) given that prices are not automatically adjusted.”
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