FIFA President Gianni Infantino has raised alarms regarding the pricing of World Cup tickets, with the tournament just over four months away.

Fans have been increasingly worried about ticket costs for the upcoming event, which will be hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

On Friday afternoon, these concerns were validated when Infantino cautioned that ticket resellers are likely to drive a significant increase in prices for the summer games.

During a speech at the World Economic Forum, Infantino noted that in the United States, it is “perfectly legal to resell tickets on resale platforms.”

“There are laws that permit this, so we must, of course, allow it,” he elaborated.

Infantino went on to discuss the tournament’s prospects, predicting that all 104 matches will be sold out and highlighting the potential impact of resellers on this scenario.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has issued a concerning update about World Cup ticket prices

On FIFA’s own resale marketplace, tickets for the World Cup final – set to be hosted at MetLife Stadium – are being sold for as much as $230,000 at the time of writing

‘You can be sure that these tickets, for which we’ll have to make a draw because every game will be sold out, will probably be resold at even higher prices,’ he said.

‘In 100, almost 100, years of World Cup history, FIFA sold around 50 million tickets in total. Now for this World Cup in four weeks [on sale], we have the request for 1,000 years of World Cups at once. This is unique. It’s incredible.’

While Infantino labelled the demand as ‘incredible’, it’s safe to say that some soccer fans will disagree with the take after discovering the current state of resale prices. 

On FIFA’s own resale marketplace – from which they reportedly get a 30 percent cut of any sale – tickets for the World Cup final have already been listed.

Astonishingly, the most expensive ticket on their platform is listed for $230,000. Meanwhile, the lowest priced Category 1 ticket for the final is priced at $16,998.

It shows a staggering increase from the face value of the tickets – which are expected to be sold from between $4,000 and $8,000. 

However, these could also be subject to change due to the dynamic prices which are set to be applied to ticket prices. 

Elsewhere, for the USA’s first game of the tournament against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, resale Category 1 tickets range from between $3,677 and $100,756.

A screenshot of FIFA’s resale marketplace for the World Cup final

A screenshot of FIFA’s resale marketplace for the United States’ first game of the tournament

Infantino’s latest comments mark a stunning U-turn from his defiant defense over the ticket prices at the end of December. 

‘We have six to seven million tickets on sale and in 15 days we received 150 million ticket requests,’ argued Infantino at the World Sports Summit in Dubai on Monday.

‘So 10 million ticket requests every single day. It shows how powerful the World Cup is.

‘In the almost 100 years of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total. So, in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that. This is absolutely crazy.’

He also said that the profits would be pumped back into football, adding: ‘What’s crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world.

‘Without FIFA there would be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup which we reinvest all over the world.’

After the enormous backlash from fans at the pricing, FIFA did guarantee a small selection of tickets would be available at a reduced cost of $61 (£45), thought to be around 10 per cent of the overall allocation handed to each nation taking part.