The 2026 FIFA World Cup was supposed to bring football closer to fans, but soaring ticket prices are doing the opposite. Even US President Donald Trump, with a net worth of approximately $6.5 billion, who helped bring the tournament to the US during his first term presidency in 2018, said he would not spend nearly $1,000 to watch the opening match. If the President isn’t willing to spend that amount, how are fans going to afford it?

The match between the United States and Paraguay will take place on June 12 in Los Angeles, but the price of the game is around $1,000. “I did not know that number,” President Trump told The Post after FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the cost of seats. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay for it either, to be honest with you.”

Well, that reaction makes sense. FIFA is releasing tickets in different phases, but the first official prices already show that costs are increasing very quickly. The cheapest category is called the “Supporter Entry Tier,” with prices starting around $60. These tickets are considered affordable and are even cheaper than some tickets from previous World Cups. However, only a small number of these tickets are available, and fans can buy them only under special conditions.

VIP and hospitality packages cost even more. Premium seats for the World Cup final can go above $10,000. Luxury packages with lounge access, special services, and exclusive experiences can reach $15,000. Prices on resale websites have become even more extreme, which are targeting the ultra-rich buyers. One ticket behind the goal was listed for an astonishing $2.3 million, although many people believe nobody would actually pay that amount.

But for the FIFA President, that seems like normal pricing. As Gianni Infantino defended the very high World Cup ticket prices while speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.  During the event, Infantino joked about the resale price going for more than $2 million and said if any very rich person actually paid that huge amount for a ticket, he would personally bring them “a hot dog and a Coke” at the stadium. So, now it’s a rich people’s sport that no middle-class man can afford.

He further defended the high World Cup ticket prices by saying FIFA is following market demand in the United States. “We have to look at the market,” Infantino said. “We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates.”

According to him, if FIFA sells tickets at lower prices, people would simply buy them and resell them later at much higher prices for profit. On top of it, Infantino also pointed out the growing demand, where fans had already made nearly 500 million ticket requests. So, as per him, the demand automatically increases the prices.

The worst part is that some tickets were listed between $38,000 and $207,000, including offers on FIFA’s own resale platform. These prices show that the World Cup is slowly becoming a luxury event that normal fans can no longer afford.

How badly have the prices actually increased?

The biggest increase appeared in ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup final, which will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The most expensive Category 1 seats, located in the lower sections of the stadium, opened at $10,990. Earlier in October, the same category had started at $6,370, meaning prices increased by more than 70% in just a few months. Category 2 tickets rose from $4,210 to $7,380, while Category 3 tickets increased from $2,790 to $5,785.

These prices are way higher than the earlier ones. During the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France in Qatar, a Category 1 ticket cost around $1,607. Category 2 seats cost about $1,003, while Category 3 tickets were around $604. Even though many fans already considered Qatar expensive, the 2026 prices are several times higher.

The 2018 World Cup final in Russia was also way cheaper than this year. Fans paid around $1,100 for Category 1 seats to watch France defeat Croatia. Category 2 tickets cost $710, and Category 3 seats cost $455. In the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil, tickets reportedly cost around $6,000, but even after adjusting for inflation, those seats would equal about $8,271 today, which is much less than this year’s final prices.

Then came the 2010 final in South Africa between Spain and the Netherlands, where top seats first sold for around $900, which later dipped to $150. But even then, Infantino believes that these prices are not that high compared to American sports.

“You cannot go to watch a college game in the US, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300,” Infantino said.

Are FIFA prices actually matching American sports?

Turns out that’s not the case, as FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s comparison between World Cup tickets and American sports tickets did not match the real prices. Infantino said fans in the United States usually pay more than $300 even for college football games, but the prices are way lower.

The playoff semifinal between Ohio State and Miami cost just $32, Oregon vs. Texas Tech just $50, Indiana vs. Alabama was for $117, and Georgia vs. Ole Miss was for $219. Let’s be real, these games were knockout games, which attract way more crowd than usual. Whereas World Cup group-stage matches still let the teams continue in the tournament even after losing one game.

Then come NFL playoff ticket prices, which also tell the same story. In January, reports from Outkick showed that tickets for some NFL Wild Card playoff games were actually much cheaper than $300. Fans bought Rams–Panthers and Texans–Steelers tickets for under $200. Tickets for Eagles vs. 49ers and Patriots vs. Chargers were only slightly above $200. The only game with ticket prices higher than $300 was Bears vs. Packers.

FIFA should not present World Cup group-stage tickets under $300 as some kind of cheap bargain. Group-stage matches are not all equally important. Some games involving famous teams or host countries attract huge crowds, while smaller matches create less excitement.

It’s pretty obvious that every World Cup game carries the World Cup name, but not every match has the same level of demand from fans. So, that kind of pricing doesn’t sit well with the fans, even if you compare it to American sports.