The first open sale of tickets for the 2026 World Cup final show that FIFA are selling some for almost $11,000 – around $15,900 (AUD).
Reports suggest that is the most expensive ticket for general admission to a football match in history, talkSPORT reports.
Not only is that price a world record, but it is also breaking a promise that the USA, Canada and Mexico made when they submitted their offer, the BBC first reported,
When the North American trio made their World Cup bid for 2026, they promised the most a final ticket would cost would be $1,550.
This was immediately broken when tickets went on sale for the final to country’s memberships.
The top prices for tickets at that time were at $8,680. But now that tickets are on general sale, the prices have increased yet again. From the original vow, the most expensive ticket to the World Cup final is set to be around eight times more than what organisers had said.
If you compare this with the final in Qatar, the top priced ticket was more than $1580.
The FIFA ticketing website also doesn’t confirm how many are available in each category, but it is clear that the price has increased in all areas of the stadium.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump have previously trumpeted the overwhelming success of having such high demand for tickets.
With the World Cup hosts breaking their promise to not have a certain price band of tickets, the Football Supporters’ Association’s England Fans’ Embassy previously labelled the situation a “slap in the face” for fans.
“A game for supporters, loyalty has been thrown out of the window and supporters of the participating nations have been completely let down,” the organisation wrote in a statement.
The Football Supporters Europe organisation also accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” over pricing.
Thomas Concannon, who leads the Football Supporters’ Association’s fans’ embassy for England away games has told the BBC: “It’s just yet another stain on FIFA’s ticketing sales.
“It’s been a common theme for the entire tournament.”
Infantino said in January that the amount of ticket requests FIFA had received was the equivalent of “the request for 1,000 years of World Cups at once”.
President Trump also said in December: “Nobody ever thought a thing like this could happen, and I’m very happy to say that we’ve already set the all-time record on ticket sales long before the first ball is kicked”.
Trump has not addressed the issue of ticket affordability. FIFA is taking full ownership of the complex issue.
The price of tickets isn’t the only thing that England fans need to worry about. That is because supporters heading to North America have been warned that the tournament might not be safe as was originally promised.
This warning comes from Amnesty International after Donald Trump ordered an aggressive deportation campaign.
This decision has led to mass protests on the streets.
English fans have also been warned that to enter, they might need to show five years of their social media history.
This could lead to many being denied entry to the US, and in a statement from Steve Cockburn, the head of economic and social justice, supporters have been warned.
He said: “There are huge risks around this tournament. This does not feel like the safe, free and equal World Cup and the inclusive World Cup that was promised eight years ago when it was awarded, but also may be quite different from how it felt even just 18 months ago.
“It’s a deeply troubling time in the US, which will certainly extend to fans who want to take part in World Cup celebrations.”
