October 10 – FIFA’s motto is ‘For the game. For the world’. But with ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup skyrocketing before the draw has taken place or a ball has even been kicked, that slogan feels increasingly out of place.
Within 48 hours of the opening of the first sales period, FIFA quietly increased prices for at least nine matches. Group tickets for the American men in Los Angeles and Seattle, which cost $535 on Wednesday, had risen $30 to $565 by the end of the day. The cheaper seats in category 3 with nosebleeds also saw a move, from $185 to $205. At New York’s MetLife Stadium, tickets for the Round of 16 have reached the four-figure mark, while even Kansas City’s quarterfinals will cost fans almost $1,200.
FIFA calls it ‘variable pricing’, a system supposedly designed to ‘protect supporters from touts’. But let’s be honest: who’s the tout? The governing body has built its own resale platform, taking two 15% cuts on every transaction. And for those who are lucky, there is the digital ‘Right To Buy’ token, a golden ticket worth $3,999, which does not include the entrance fee, but only the privilege of purchasing one later.
The irony is not lost on real football fans, who will become the first victims of this new pricing system and are left to wonder whether FIFA’s motto of inclusivity and global unity is a smokescreen for a World Cup that caters to a closed community of the wealthy.
For decades, the World Cup was a popular tournament, a unique event united by football and a global celebration. That spirit evaporates.
Now FIFA’s message is clear: if you can’t pay, you can’t play, with the next logical step being to put the tournament behind a television paywall.
‘For the game. For the world’? Probably not anymore.
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