Dear Editor,
FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), football’s global governing body with 211 national member associations, has promoted this summer’s World Cup as the greatest and most inclusive tournament ever.
This year’s event features a record 48 nations. Yet while boasting that “football unites the world,” FIFA has adopted a ticketing strategy that suggests indifference to the traditions of “the people’s game.”
The 2026 World Cup, the most significant single-sport tournament in the world, has sparked widespread outrage because of its record-breaking costs. Average attendance expenses are approaching $5,500 per person, while tickets for the final are exceeding $10,000. Because tickets on the resale market often sell far above face value, FIFA appears to be attempting to capture those premiums through higher initial prices.
For the United States’ opening group-stage match against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12, the least expensive tickets initially offered were priced at $1,200. Today, resale prices are at least four times higher. By comparison, the highest-priced ticket for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar was approximately $1,600. Favoring wealthy attendees over the traditional working-class fan base betrays the spirit of “the beautiful game.”
FIFA’s pricing strategy reflects a troubling degree of greed. These excessive prices undermine the integrity of the world’s most widely followed sporting event. Historically, the World Cup has been more than a tournament; it has been a global cultural festival enriched by passionate supporters from different backgrounds coming together through a shared love of the game.
When accommodations, transportation, and other travel expenses are factored in, it becomes clear that access to this World Cup has been priced beyond the reach of many football fans. The combination of price gouging and profiteering threatens to exclude millions of supporters from an experience intended to unite people across nations and cultures.
So what recourse does the average fan have?
As with other major playoff and championship events, host cities will stage watch parties near stadiums, allowing thousands of supporters to share in the excitement and atmosphere surrounding the matches. And for others like me, a seat at the bar in a local pub, a big-screen television, and a $20 pitcher of beer seem like a real bargain.
USA! USA! USA!
Peter Wibell, Rutledge