FIFA Faces Backlash Over Sky-High World Cup Ticket Prices, Fans Demand Fair Access

Scoring an own goal is an uncommon occurrence in sports, yet it’s an inevitable part of the game.

When a player inadvertently puts the ball into their own net, it can be a source of embarrassment and confusion, leaving them feeling downcast.

Off the field, FIFA has found itself in a similar situation with two notable missteps.

The first took place recently when FIFA President Gianni Infantino awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump. This decision was met with widespread criticism and mockery by media outlets both in the United States and internationally, including by this writer.

Many questioned why such an honor would be bestowed upon someone who has authorized military action against boats suspected of drug trafficking to the U.S. and has made comments about potentially invading Venezuela.

The decision left many baffled.

It didn’t make sense.

FIFA Peace Prize controversy

When Infantino presented Trump with the FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw, the FIFA president stated: “This is what we want from a leader … you definitely deserve the first FIFA Peace Prize for your action for what you have obtained in your way but you obtained it in an incredible way and you can always count Mr. President on my support.”

Infantino’s decision has gone against FIFA’s statutes, according to FairSquare, a London-based human rights non-profit organization.

Infantino is the subject of a formal complaint to FIFA’s ethics investigators. FairSquare complained to FIFA ethics investigators stated on Tuesday that it had filed requests for investigations into Infantino’s alleged breaches of FIFA’s statutory duty that states its president reaming politically neutral.

The complaint alleged repeated breaches of the obligation in FIFA’s Code of Ethics, which requires soccer officials to remain politically neutral.

“This complaint is about a lot more than Infantino’s support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda,” FairSquare program director Nicholas McGeehan said. “More broadly, this is about how FIFA’s absurd governance structure has allowed Gianni Infantino to openly flout the organization’s rules and act in ways that are both dangerous and directly contrary to the interests of the world’s most popular sport.”

An official can be banned for as many as two years for not being neutral, according to FIFA’s ethics code. It wasn’t certain if FIFA officials will take up the case.

This controversy is likely not going to go away.

The ticket headaches

Then again, the headache concerning high-priced World Cup tickets isn’t about to drift off into the sunset anytime soon, as well. FIFA’s goal is to make $10 billion from the tournament.

In the combined bid of the U.S., Mexico and Canada to host the 2026 World Cup, hundreds of thousands of $21 tickets for the group stage were supposed to be made available to fans. When tickets went on sale in September, seats in the range of $60 were supposed to be made available, which still is reasonable.

According to The Athletic, “Some standard group-stage tickets [are] now listed at $700 and a lower-level ticket to the World Cup final [is] now priced at $8,680 – nearly $2,000 more than its original price in October.”

FIFA sees the USA its personal ATM with endless deep pockets because match ticket prices from the group stage to the final are exorbitant are off the charts. Some individuals can afford to play thousands of dollars to attend matches, most citizens can’t.

Criticism around the world

The soaring ticket prices have been felt and criticized in several countries.

“Football Supporters Europe is astonished by the extortionate ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most dedicated supporters for next year’s FIFA World Cup,” the German group stated on its website.

“In the price tables gradually and confidentially released by FIFA, tickets allocated to National Associations (PMA – Participating Member Association allocation), which typically distribute them via official supporters’ groups or loyalty programs to their most devoted fans, are reaching astronomical levels. Based on the information currently available to FSE, if a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final through a PMA allocation, it would cost them a minimum of $6,900 USD – nearly five times as much as during the FIFA WC 2022 in Qatar.

“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is.

“We call on FIFA to immediately halt PMA ticket sales, engage in a consultation with all impacted parties, and review ticket prices and category distribution until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”

On Thursday, the English Football Association shared ticket information with the England Supporters Travel Club. If a fan bought a ticket for every game the English National Team would play through to the final, it would cost them slightly over $7,000.

As for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on July 19, 2026, ticket costs are through the roof. The seats will cost up to seven times the amount for the 2022 cup final in Qatar in December 2022.

There are three categories for the championship game. The “supporter value tier” starts at $4,185, the “supporter standard tier” is $5,560 while the “supporter premier tier” is priced at $8,860.

Only 24 hours after FIFA opened its Random Selection Draw, FIFA boasted in a press release on Friday that “demand from around the world reached extraordinary levels.”

“Fans from over 200 countries and territories submitted 5 million ticket requests,” the release said.

The Random Selection Draw will stay open until Jan. 13.

Given the lofty ticket prices, it is uncertain if every game of the 108-match tournament will be sold out as it was at USA 94. Some 3.7 million spectators packed stadiums that summer, a record that stands until today.

That mark should be broken at the 2026 World Cup as there are seven million tickets available.

Like it or not, the ticket saga probably will shadow the World Cup for quite some time.

Michael Lewis, the sixth recipient of the Clay Berling Media Career of Excellence Award in 2025, can be followed on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky at @Soccerwriter.