FIFA President Gianni Infantino claimed in January that demand for the 2026 World Cup would be equivalent to “1,000 years of World Cups at once.” However, with a month to go until the tournament, tickets remain available for most matches, and it is unclear if any games have truly sold out.
Gilad Zilberman, CEO of leading secondary market comparison site SeatPick, told DW: “The way it looks to me, I would not be too concerned about the hype of the World Cup being sold out. I think prices will drop. That's my gut feeling. I think FIFA is struggling.”
While FIFA did not respond to DW’s questions, a report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) indicated that nearly 80% of hotel bookings in host cities are below initial forecasts, likely due to a lack of international travelers.
This year, FIFA introduced dynamic pricing and its own secondary market, where ticket holders can resell tickets at any price, with FIFA taking a 15% cut from both buyer and seller. Recently, a ticket was listed for $2,299,998.85 (about €1.95 million), which would net FIFA $690,000 (€585,000) if sold.
The most expensive face-value ticket for the final was $11,000. Infantino defended the strategy last week, saying: “We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates.”
However, Zilberman says market data disputes this. SeatPick data shows that as of late April, for 72% of matches where both FIFA and secondary market figures are available, the secondary market was cheaper. DW verified that reseller tickets are cheaper in most cases.
Zilberman argues that FIFA lacks expertise in dynamic pricing and is holding back tickets to influence the market. “FIFA is basically doing dynamic pricing by themselves and trying to emulate what the pricing is on the secondary market and trying to grab the most amount of the pie they can have for themselves,” he said.
The Canadian province of Ontario passed legislation in late April banning resale of tickets above face value, affecting prices in Toronto. Additionally, Football Supporters Europe and Euroconsumers filed a complaint with the European Commission in March over FIFA’s ticketing strategy.
FIFA has not announced whether it will continue these strategies for the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Portugal, and Spain. Zilberman believes it will be harder next time, as secondary markets are less developed in those countries compared to the US.
Infantino jokingly promised to personally bring a hot dog and a Coke to anyone buying a $2 million ticket, but such prices are unlikely for 2030.
Source: www.dw.com