FIFA tripled the price of its best available ticket to the World Cup final, listing a front category 1 seat for $32,970 for the July 19 match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the report says.
The seats were posted on FIFA’s sales site the same day members of Congress pressed the organization for more transparency about its pricing structure, according to the report. Reps. Nellie Pou and Frank Pallone Jr., both New Jersey Democrats, sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino asking him to explain what the lawmakers called the organization’s “opaque” use of dynamic pricing.
The report notes FIFA previously had a high price of $10,990 for category 1 at the final; that ticket was listed Thursday only as a wheelchair and easy access amenity category 1, per the report. Tickets for other matches were shown at a range of prices on FIFA’s site, the report says.
Per the report, prices listed included the July 14 semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at $11,130, $4,330, $3,710 and $2,705, and the following day’s semifinal at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium at $10,635, $3,545 and $2,725. United States matches were listed as well: the opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium at $2,735, $1,940 and $1,120; the June 19 game against Australia at Lumen Field at $2,715; and the June 25 group-stage finale against Türkiye at Inglewood at $2,970, $1,345, $990 and $840.
The report also details FIFA’s resale marketplace, where final tickets ranged Thursday from $11,499,998.85 to $8,970, with the top-listed price for a seat four rows from the top of the upper deck in block 307, row 22, seat 12. The report says FIFA does not control asking prices on that marketplace but collects a 15% purchase fee from buyers and a 15% resale fee from sellers.
Infantino defended the prices in remarks quoted by the report, saying organizers must “look at the market” and pointing to resale activity in the U.S., and adding that college and professional events in the U.S. are regularly available for less than $300. The congressional letter asked FIFA to provide more information about ticketing practices and how the organization is ensuring affordability, the report says.
