The most expensive in history! First-class tickets for the US-Canada-Mexico World Cup finals cost US$6,730, and FIFA openly "cut leeks"

Since the first round of ticket sales on September 10, more than 1 million tickets for the 2026 United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup have been sold so far. This World Cup, co-organized by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is destined to become the most expensive World Cup in history.

From the number of tickets for the top seats in the finals, which soared to four times that of the previous World Cup, to the introduction of a "dynamic pricing" mechanism for the first time in the history of the event, to the trap-like "right to buy tickets" (RTB), FIFA's series of ticketing operations have not only pushed up the threshold for fans to watch the game, but also made the World Cup a tool for profit-making.

For the first time, the World Cup used a "dynamic pricing" system for ticketing, which significantly increased ticket prices.

Tickets for previous World Cups were classified based on "the location of the seat relative to the stadium." The classification standard for the 2026 World Cup has changed to "according to the distance of the seat from the stadium." The lowest ticket price for the group stage of this World Cup is US$60 to US$105 per ticket (US$560 for the US team's opening game), and the highest ticket price is US$410 to US$620 (US$2,735 for the US team's opener). The ticket price for the final is even more "sky-high" - the lowest price is US$2,030. Most seats in the upper stands are priced at US$2,790 to US$4,210, and seats in the lower stands and most middle stands are as high as US$6,730. The highest ticket price for the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals is US$1,607, which is only a quarter of the highest ticket price for next year's World Cup.

And this was the "original price" before FIFA launched the controversial dynamic pricing system and before ticket prices increased further. In September, FIFA confirmed that it would introduce a dynamic pricing mechanism for the first time in the history of the World Cup. This mechanism is familiar to American sports fans, but is rarely used in European and South American football circles. Its core logic is to adjust ticket prices based on real-time demand.

"This is the first time that FIFA has adopted dynamic pricing in the World Cup." FIFA Chief Operating Officer Hilgi repeatedly reminded fans to "purchase tickets as early as possible, as prices may change later." However, it avoided key issues: specific information such as the host city, grouping, and opponents will only be determined in December this year. Ticket buyers now do not know the relevant information about the tickets they purchased, and they are not even sure whether the team they support can advance to the World Cup.

This uncertainty makes "early bird ticket buying" a gamble - the group stage tickets purchased for hundreds or even thousands of dollars may correspond to the focus game between the Italian team and the Brazilian team, or it may be the New Zealand team against the Uzbekistan team.

FIFA President Infantino used the example of tickets for this year’s Club World Cup semi-finals between Chelsea and Fluminense falling from US$474 to just US$13 within a few days to defend dynamic pricing, saying that this model had helped fans buy low-price tickets. However, the popularity of the Club World Cup cannot be compared with that of the World Cup. The fanatical demand from all over the world is doomed to lead this mechanism to an abyss of price increases, and it is impossible for fans to still wait for low-price tickets when they arrive at the venue. This is simply a logical paradox.

Just one day after tickets went on sale, FIFA raised the ticket prices for at least nine games. Even the most expensive World Cup tickets in history are still in short supply. Critics say the World Cup is becoming an event only for the rich.

With the launch of FIFA’s official resale platform, the opposition has further intensified. Unlike previous World Cups that stipulated that the resale price should not exceed the face value of the tickets, FIFA allows unlimited resale of tickets in the US and Canadian markets this time. Some finals tickets have been resold for more than $25,000. In addition, FIFA will charge a 15% fee to both the buyer and seller of each resale transaction, which is equivalent to taking a 30% cut from a single transaction. In previous World Cups, the total handling fee between buyers and sellers was only about 10%.

The "ticket purchase rights" purchased for thousands of dollars are a scam.

At the same time, a controversy surrounding the "ticket purchase rights" has plunged FIFA into a crisis of confidence. Hundreds of fans have previously spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars to purchase RTB qualifications through FIFACollect, FIFA's digital collection platform. For example, a total of 12 RTBs were sold in the Mexican team's third group match, each priced at US$3,999. But now buyers find they can only redeem high-priced tickets. Dissatisfaction has quickly spread to the secondary market, with some RTB prices plummeting below their original prices.

FIFA promises that RTB holders can purchase one or two World Cup tickets at a "to-be-determined price" in the subsequent stages. However, RTB does not include ticket fees and only represents purchase qualifications. FIFA sent an email in December last year stating that RTB holders can purchase "tickets covering different categories to meet various needs." The expectation of avoiding the lottery and being more cost-effective than the second-hand market has caused fans to rush to buy. Many people regard it as a shortcut to obtain affordable tickets.

This expectation was completely shattered in the middle of this month. FIFACollect announced that the vast majority of RTB holders can only redeem Category 1 tickets (the most expensive) - 70% are Category 1 tickets, 28% are Category 2 tickets, Category 3 tickets only account for 2%, and the cheapest Category 4 tickets are completely unavailable for purchase.

"For me, the core meaning of buying RTB is to be able to buy cheaper tickets at face price. If I had known this ratio, I would never buy RTB." The words of American fan Jon Heath represent the general sentiment of RTB holders. Heath has invested thousands of dollars in RTB for the US team's opening game in Los Angeles, but he still needs to pay an additional $1,940 (category 2 tickets) or $2,735 (category 1 tickets) to buy tickets. The high expenditure makes him overwhelmed.

Faced with FIFA's blatant "money trapping" behavior, New York State Assembly member and New York mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani launched the "End the Greed Game" campaign, publicly calling on FIFA to end dynamic pricing, restore resale price restrictions, and reserve 15% of tickets to be sold to local residents at discounted prices.. "The world's largest sporting event will be held on our doorstep, but most New Yorkers will not even have the opportunity to watch it live because of the exorbitant ticket prices," Mamdani said.

Faced with multiple pressures from fans, politicians and the media, FIFA has still not shown any signs of adjusting its strategy. Hilgi still prevaricates: "We must optimize both revenue and attendance. This is always a matter of finding a balance between different factors."

Ronan Ewan, executive director of the European Football Fans Organization, hit the nail on the head: "This is not about making football truly global at all, but about taking this once-improving sport to all people. Privatization of open events. FIFA management cannot understand: they need fans in the stands, the energy, atmosphere and colorful culture of the stadium. Setting such a high price will make all of this disappear. "

Under the double barriers of high ticket prices and dispute mechanism, this green feast spanning three countries and 16 cities seems to be reduced to a carnival for a few people, and the leader of all this is FIFA who is eager to "cut leeks".