{"id":1993039,"date":"2026-06-15T13:20:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T10:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1993039"},"modified":"2026-06-15T13:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T10:20:35","slug":"do-the-world-cups-pricey-tickets-reflect-us-market-rates-and-stop-scalpers-as-fifa-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1993039","title":{"rendered":"Do the World Cup&#8217;s pricey tickets reflect US market rates and stop scalpers, as FIFA says?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/62\/03\/1200x675_cmsv2_53b73c55-b90a-511d-a66b-6deb76897c42-9796203.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"abe-2902412-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2902412\" data-cid=\"9800637\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902412-label-pos1-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/06\/37\/189x106_cmsv2_dc469214-3751-5f41-a693-9fa0bf56d29d-9800637.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FILE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands in front of a Patriot air defence missile system in Western Pomerania, Germany, June 11, 2024.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Europe News<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Kyiv seeks license to produce Patriot systems for Ukraine and Europe\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902283-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2902283\" data-cid=\"9799872\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902283-label-pos2-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/98\/72\/189x106_cmsv2_a6f8ef47-8682-5067-9c1f-dc28d0a600fb-9799872.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Euronews Culture&apos;s picks of Steven Spielberg&apos;s most underrated films\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Cinema<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Beyond &#8216;Disclosure Day&#8217;: Steven Spielberg\u2019s most underrated movies\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902409-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1\" data-nid=\"2902409\" data-cid=\"9800621\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902409-label-pos3-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/06\/21\/189x106_cmsv2_b89fdef1-ff16-5ee0-ab64-73f774f56a16-9800621.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Afghan refugees sit beside trucks loaded with their belongings on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, 29 October, 2025\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Switzerland<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    UN says 2.4 million refugees will need resettling in 2027\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2897373-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-1 m-modeDesktop-1 m-modeXL-1 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2897373\" data-cid=\"9776104\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2897373-label-pos4-c-latest-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/77\/61\/04\/189x106_cmsv2_9429c145-3822-5521-a0c3-b091529de680-9776104.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Industrial zones attract manufacturers and logistics investment\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Business Line<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Industrial zones attract manufacturers and logistics investment\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__quote\">In partnership with <strong>Center for the Production of Content for Mass Media under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902412-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2902412\" data-cid=\"9800637\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902412-label-pos1-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/06\/37\/189x106_cmsv2_dc469214-3751-5f41-a693-9fa0bf56d29d-9800637.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FILE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands in front of a Patriot air defence missile system in Western Pomerania, Germany, June 11, 2024.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Europe News<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Kyiv seeks license to produce Patriot systems for Ukraine and Europe\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902283-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2902283\" data-cid=\"9799872\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902283-label-pos2-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/98\/72\/189x106_cmsv2_a6f8ef47-8682-5067-9c1f-dc28d0a600fb-9799872.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Euronews Culture&apos;s picks of Steven Spielberg&apos;s most underrated films\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Cinema<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Beyond &#8216;Disclosure Day&#8217;: Steven Spielberg\u2019s most underrated movies\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902409-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2\" data-nid=\"2902409\" data-cid=\"9800621\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902409-label-pos3-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/06\/21\/189x106_cmsv2_b89fdef1-ff16-5ee0-ab64-73f774f56a16-9800621.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Afghan refugees sit beside trucks loaded with their belongings on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, 29 October, 2025\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Switzerland<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    UN says 2.4 million refugees will need resettling in 2027\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2897373-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--has-video\" data-nid=\"2897373\" data-cid=\"9776104\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2897373-label-pos4-c-latest-stories-sidebar\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/77\/61\/04\/189x106_cmsv2_9429c145-3822-5521-a0c3-b091529de680-9776104.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Industrial zones attract manufacturers and logistics investment\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n                    Business Line<\/p>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Industrial zones attract manufacturers and logistics investment\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__quote\">In partnership with <strong>Center for the Production of Content for Mass Media under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"helper-site-row o-article-newsy\">\n<div class=\"helper-site-container o-article-newsy__container\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__main\">\n<header class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__header\">\n<nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumbs\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs\">\n<div id=\"adb-article-breadcrumb\" class=\"c-article-breadcrumbs__list\">\n<p>                          Europe<\/p>\n<p>                          Europe Decoded<\/p>\n<p>                          The Cube<\/p><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<h1 class=\"c-article-redesign-title\">\n                            Do the World Cup&#8217;s pricey tickets reflect US market rates and stop scalpers, as FIFA says?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-video u-position-relative \">\n<div class=\"js-superdiv u-aspect-ratio-16x9 u-position-relative \" data-sponsored=\"Partner content\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-poster-img c-article-media__img\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/62\/03\/1536x864_cmsv2_53b73c55-b90a-511d-a66b-6deb76897c42-9796203.jpg\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez looks around as Ivory Coast&apos;s Amad Diallo scores the opening goal during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ivory Coast, 14 June.\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-caption u-position-absolute\"><i id=\"article-caption-content\" class=\"c-article-caption__content\"><span class=\"c-article-caption__text\"><br \/>\n              Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez looks around as Ivory Coast&#8217;s Amad Diallo scores the opening goal during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Ivory Coast, 14 June.<br \/>\n                    <span class=\"u-color-white\">&#8211;\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__copyright\">Copyright\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"c-article-caption__credit\">AP Photo<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-image-copyright c-article-image-copyright--novideo\">\n      Copyright\u00a0AP Photo\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"h-grid o-article-newsy__main__body u-article-content\">\n<div class=\"o-article-newsy__contributors-publication-date\">\n<div class=\"c-article-contributors\">\n  By&amp;nbspTamsin Paternoster&amp;nbsp&amp;&amp;nbspEstelle Nilsson-Julien\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-publication-date\" data-timestamp=\"1781529635\">\n                    Published on                 <time datetime=\"2026-06-15 15:20:35 +02:00\">15\/06\/2026 &#8211; 15:20 GMT+2<\/time><span class=\"c-article-publication-date__bullet\">\u2022<\/span>Updated<br \/>\n                                     <time datetime=\"15:25\">15:25<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup-overlay 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Copy\/paste the article video embed link below:<br \/>\n                        <\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup__content__embed u-display-flex\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/vector\/icon-copy-to-clipboard.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Copy to clipboard\" class=\"u-cursor-pointer js-c-article-share-comment-copy\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment-popup__content__embed--success-copied u-display-none js-c-article-share-comment-video-embed-success-link-copied\"><br \/>\n                                Copied<br \/>\n                            <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"c-article-summary\">\n        FIFA says World Cup ticket prices reflect US market rates and help prevent scalpers from profiting. But experts and consumer groups say the comparison with US sports leaves out important context.<br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-content js-article-content\">\n<p>The 2026 World Cup \u2014 jointly hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States \u2014 has been met with a barrage of criticism over costly ticket prices, which have been described as the most expensive in the tournament&#8217;s near-century-long history.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-mobile-only\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad u-show-for-desktop\">\n<div class=\"c-ad__placeholder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-ad__placeholder__logo\" src=\"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/website\/images\/logos\/logo-euronews-stacked-outlined-72x72-grey-9.svg\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt loading=\"lazy\"><span>ADVERTISEMENT<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>FIFA tickets started at $140 (\u20ac121) for group-stage games, according to the Associated Press, while category 1 tickets \u2014 the most expensive general admission type \u2014 for the New Jersey final on 19 July started at $8,680, before rising to $10,990 in April and then an eyewatering $32,970 in May. <\/p>\n<p>For the first time, a dynamic pricing system was implemented, meaning that ticket prices were dictated by demand. This system has become commonplace in the US, following its introduction to the US sports market in 2009. <\/p>\n<p>The result of dynamic pricing is a World Cup with significantly higher ticket prices than past editions.<\/p>\n<p>Compared with this year&#8217;s prices, category 1 tickets for the 2018 Russia edition cost $1,100. Four years later in Qatar, the equivalent ticket cost $1,607. In comparison, tickets for the Euro 2024 final in Berlin started at \u20ac95, with the most expensive seats costing \u20ac2,000. <\/p>\n<p>Following criticism, FIFA offered 130,000 tickets priced at $60 to national federations for their regular supporters.<\/p>\n<h2>Are comparisons to US market rates accurate?<\/h2>\n<p>When asked about the higher prices, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said FIFA had consulted the &#8220;best lawyers&#8221; and &#8220;best experts&#8221; before launching ticket sales, and that the organisation was comfortable defending its pricing strategy. <\/p>\n<p>Infantino said that market rates had influenced the cost of the tickets. He also argued that demand for this year&#8217;s tournament has driven prices up, arguing that ticket prices reflected the market, given that the US &#8220;is the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world&#8221; in May. <\/p>\n<p>On 10 June, he told reporters that the average ticket price of less than $500 was comparable to other US sports during their playoffs, adding that he was not concerned about tickets listed on the resale market at $2 million.<\/p>\n<p>This comparison may be true for some resale markets, but it is less accurate when looking at official list prices, according to analysis by the AP. <\/p>\n<p>Tickets to the World Series \u2014 the annual championship series of Major League Baseball \u2014 have averaged been $350 to $400 in recent years, while National Football League (NFL) prices last season averaged $230 for the wild-card round, $320 for divisional games, and $450 for conference championships. Meanwhile, tickets to the Super Bowl averaged around $3,300.<\/p>\n<p>The get-in price (or the total cost of the cheapest ticket on the market) on FIFA&#8217;s resale site for the World Cup final is $9,805. The NBA Finals have had wildly varied get-in prices, ranging from a minimum of about $500 for the first two games in San Antonio to about $10,000 for Game 3 in New York. Game 4 in New York was much less, dropping to about $4,000 on 10 June.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id data-event=\"widget_related\">\n<div class=\"c-widget-related__title\"><b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b><\/div>\n<ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n<li class=\"c-widget-related__item\">After refused entry into US, Somali referee Omar Artan will be paid full World Cup fee by FIFA<\/li>\n<li class=\"c-widget-related__item\">Too much \u2018football fever\u2019? Why some World Cup fans should limit their excitement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Experts have cast doubt on Infantino&#8217;s comparison between American sports playoffs and the World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is rather disingenuous to compare the two, as a 48-team tournament played over five weeks is rather different in conception, design and delivery from end-of-season franchise play-offs,&#8221; Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School, told Euronews&#8217; fact-checking team, The Cube. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Perhaps the most obvious difference is that one is contested by countries, whereas the other takes place between teams within cities,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Hence, the products on offer are fundamentally different and have very different target audiences.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chadwick also argued that the World Cup&#8217;s fan base is much broader than that of most American professional sports.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The US is a highly mature sports market in which people are willing to pay significant amounts of money for sporting experiences,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Whereas the World Cup has a very different, often economically disadvantaged, constituency, as well as a very different global socio-demographic basis.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He also questioned FIFA&#8217;s claim that the average ticket price will be less than $500, due to dynamic pricing, which means that prices for the events have fluctuated and will continue to do so. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Maybe sometime in July, Infantino will be able to say this was the average price. But until then, we can&#8217;t really say that,&#8221; Chadwick said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Do the high prices prevent high-cost resales?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Infantino also argued that high prices were necessary and that if FIFA had lowered the prices, then scalpers would have taken advantage of the situation by charging far higher rates \u2014 feeding the profit into the black market rather than into the game itself. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well,&#8221; Infantino said in May, according to The Guardian. &#8220;So if you were to sell tickets at a price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, consumer rights groups say that high prices do not prevent resale.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re seeing tickets being sold at something over \u20ac2 million; many more intermediaries are making money from that resale,&#8221; said Olivia Brown, policy officer at Euroconsumers, the European umbrella consumer rights group. &#8220;The argument that dynamic pricing helps keep the money in sport is something we&#8217;re sceptical about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;FIFA introduced a 15% fee for the buyer and the seller of the tickets. So from every ticket that&#8217;s resold, FIFA takes another 30% back,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I know that they say the revenue is going back into sport, but we also know that a lot of the revenue remains with FIFA.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Brown suggested that FIFA could have introduced a cap to ensure that tickets were only resold at face value, but this ultimately did not happen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.666015625\">\n<div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n<div class=\"widget__contents\">\n<figure class=\"widget__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/62\/03\/808x539_cmsv2_d6c805d1-831a-533e-ad0d-6769e8bb669e-9796203.jpg\" alt=\"FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the World Cup Group D match between the US and Paraguay, 12 June 2026\"><figcaption class=\"widget__caption\"><span class=\"widget__captionWrap\"><span class=\"widget__captionText\">FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends the World Cup Group D match between the US and Paraguay, 12 June 2026<\/span><span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Andre Penner\/Copyright 2026 The AP. All rights reserved.<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>FIFA&#8217;s argument has garnered some support from commentators, though.<\/p>\n<p>Football journalist Henry Bushnell said in a piece published in The Athletic \u2014 the sports department of the New York Times \u2014 that even if FIFA had sold tickets at similar prices to previous World Cups, many would have likely ended up on secondary markets at much higher prices because of the US\u2019s largely unrestricted resale market. <\/p>\n<p>According to Bushnell, FIFA&#8217;s biggest mistake was not charging high prices, but failing to reserve more affordable tickets for loyal supporters. <\/p>\n<p>FIFA did not respond to our request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"perf-cv-auto c-article-contributors c-article-contributors-supplementary u-margin-top-2 u-padding-top-2\">\n<p>Additional sources<strong> \u2022 AP <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/footer>\n<p>                                  Go to accessibility shortcuts<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-article-share-comment u-align-items-center u-display-flex\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__links u-align-items-center u-display-flex u-justify-content-center js-c-article-share-comment-share\"><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Share<\/span><\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label\">Comments<\/span><span class=\"c-article-share-comment__label c-article-share-comment__label--always\">Add Euronews on Google<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"adb-article-you-might-also-like\" class=\"perf-cv-auto c-article-you-might-also-like\">\n<h2 class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__title\">\n        Read more<br \/>\n      <\/h2>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Baby boom after the summer fairytale: does football joy raise birth rates?<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-article-you-might-also-like__item\">\n<h3>\n<p>                  Too much \u2018football fever\u2019? 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src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/01\/57\/320x180_cmsv2_8734265a-6934-5cd5-bb2a-5e71e7962e46-9800157.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"People walk in Zaryadye park in Moscow, Russia.\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Moscow oil refinery ablaze after retaliatory Ukrainian drone strike<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902409-pos6-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-2 m-modeDesktop-2 m-modeXL-2 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2902409\" data-cid=\"9800621\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<figure id=\"abe-2902409-label-pos6-top-stories\" class=\"the-media-object__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"the-media-object__image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/80\/06\/21\/320x180_cmsv2_b89fdef1-ff16-5ee0-ab64-73f774f56a16-9800621.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Afghan refugees sit beside trucks loaded with their belongings on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, 29 October, 2025\" height=\"9\" width=\"16\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    UN says 2.4 million refugees will need resettling in 2027<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2898516-pos1-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-video the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2898516\" data-cid=\"9781367\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Air passengers to enjoy free cabin bags as decade-long EU talks end<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902167-pos2-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2902167\" data-cid=\"9799387\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Young woman dies after being launched off bridge without safety rope<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2902007-pos3-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2902007\" data-cid=\"9798547\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Starbucks to close Korea stores for history lesson after ad fiasco<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2901987-pos4-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--has-video the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2901987\" data-cid=\"9798382\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    World Naked Bike Ride returns to streets of London in the UK<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<article id=\"abe-2901784-pos5-mostViewed\" class=\"the-media-object m-modeMobile-3 m-modeDesktop-3 m-modeXL-3 the-media-object--no-label\" data-nid=\"2901784\" data-cid=\"9797580\" data-part-label=\"Partner content\">\n<div class=\"the-media-object__content\">\n<h3 class=\"the-media-object__title  \">\n<p>    Revealed: The world&#8217;s most beautiful airports in 2026<br \/>\n  <\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articleBody\" data-key=\"articleBody\">The 2026 World Cup \u2014 jointly hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States \u2014 has been met with a barrage of criticism over costly ticket prices, which have been described as the most expensive in the tournament&#8217;s near-century-long history.FIFA tickets started at $140 (\u20ac121) for group-stage games, according to the Associated Press, while category 1 tickets \u2014 the most expensive general admission type\u00a0\u2014 for the New Jersey final on 19 July started at $8,680, before rising to $10,990 in April and then an eyewatering $32,970 in May.\u00a0For the first time, a dynamic pricing system was implemented, meaning that ticket prices were dictated by demand. This system has become commonplace in the US, following its introduction to the US sports market in 2009.The result of dynamic pricing is a World Cup with significantly higher ticket prices than past editions.Compared with this year&#8217;s prices, category 1 tickets for the 2018 Russia edition cost $1,100. Four years later in Qatar, the equivalent ticket cost $1,607. In comparison, tickets for the Euro 2024 final in Berlin started at \u20ac95, with the most expensive seats costing \u20ac2,000.Following criticism, FIFA offered 130,000 tickets priced at $60 to national federations for their regular supporters.Are comparisons to US market rates accurate?When asked about the higher prices, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said FIFA had consulted the &#8220;best lawyers&#8221; and &#8220;best experts&#8221; before launching ticket sales, and that the organisation was comfortable defending its pricing strategy.\u00a0Infantino said that market rates had influenced the cost of the tickets. He also argued that demand for this year&#8217;s tournament has driven prices up, arguing that ticket prices reflected the market, given that the US &#8220;is the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world&#8221; in May.On 10 June, he told reporters that the average ticket price of less than $500 was comparable to other US sports during their playoffs, adding that he was not concerned about tickets listed on the resale market at $2 million.\u00a0This comparison may be true for some resale markets, but it is less accurate when looking at official list prices, according to analysis by the AP.Tickets to the World Series \u2014 the annual championship series of Major League Baseball \u2014 have averaged been $350 to $400 in recent years, while National Football League (NFL) prices last season averaged $230 for the wild-card round, $320 for divisional games, and $450 for conference championships. Meanwhile, tickets to the Super Bowl averaged around $3,300.The get-in price (or the total cost of the cheapest ticket on the market) on FIFA&#8217;s resale site for the World Cup final is $9,805. The NBA Finals have had wildly varied get-in prices, ranging from a minimum of about $500 for the first two games in San Antonio to about $10,000 for Game 3 in New York. Game 4 in New York was much less, dropping to about $4,000 on 10 June.Experts have cast doubt on Infantino&#8217;s comparison between American sports playoffs and the World Cup.&#8221;It is rather disingenuous to compare the two, as a 48-team tournament played over five weeks is rather different in conception, design and delivery from end-of-season franchise play-offs,&#8221; Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School, told Euronews&#8217; fact-checking team, The Cube.\u00a0&#8220;Perhaps the most obvious difference is that one is contested by countries, whereas the other takes place between teams within cities,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Hence, the products on offer are fundamentally different and have very different target audiences.&#8221;Chadwick also argued that the World Cup&#8217;s fan base is much broader than that of most American professional sports.&#8221;The US is a highly mature sports market in which people are willing to pay significant amounts of money for sporting experiences,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Whereas the World Cup has a very different, often economically disadvantaged, constituency, as well as a very different global socio-demographic basis.&#8221;He also questioned FIFA&#8217;s claim that the average ticket price will be less than $500, due to dynamic pricing, which means that prices for the events have fluctuated and will continue to do so.\u00a0&#8220;Maybe sometime in July, Infantino will be able to say this was the average price. But until then, we can&#8217;t really say that,&#8221; Chadwick said.Do the high prices prevent high-cost resales?Infantino also argued that high prices were necessary and that if FIFA had lowered the prices, then scalpers would have taken advantage of the situation by charging far higher rates \u2014 feeding the profit into the black market rather than into the game itself.\u00a0&#8220;In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well,&#8221; Infantino said in May, according to The Guardian. &#8220;So if you were to sell tickets at a price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.&#8221;However, consumer rights groups say that high prices do not prevent resale.&#8221;We&#8217;re seeing tickets being sold at something over \u20ac2 million; many more intermediaries are making money from that resale,&#8221; said Olivia Brown, policy officer at Euroconsumers, the European umbrella consumer rights group. &#8220;The argument that dynamic pricing helps keep the money in sport is something we&#8217;re sceptical about.&#8221;&#8221;FIFA introduced a 15% fee for the buyer and the seller of the tickets. So from every ticket that&#8217;s resold, FIFA takes another 30% back,&#8221; she added. &#8220;I know that they say the revenue is going back into sport, but we also know that a lot of the revenue remains with FIFA.&#8221;Brown suggested that FIFA could have introduced a cap to ensure that tickets were only resold at face value, but this ultimately did not happen.FIFA&#8217;s argument has garnered some support from commentators, though.Football journalist Henry Bushnell said in a piece published in The Athletic \u2014 the sports department of the New York Times \u2014 that even if FIFA had sold tickets at similar prices to previous World Cups, many would have likely ended up on secondary markets at much higher prices because of the US\u2019s largely unrestricted resale market.According to Bushnell, FIFA&#8217;s biggest mistake was not charging high prices, but failing to reserve more affordable tickets for loyal supporters.\u00a0FIFA did not respond to our request for comment.<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/2026\/06\/15\/do-the-world-cups-enormous-ticket-prices-reflect-us-market-rates-and-stop-scalpers-as-fifa&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/79\/62\/03\/1200x675_cmsv2_53b73c55-b90a-511d-a66b-6deb76897c42-9796203.jpg&#8221;] Europe News Kyiv seeks license to produce Patriot systems for Ukraine and Europe Cinema Beyond &#8216;Disclosure Day&#8217;: Steven Spielberg\u2019s most underrated movies Switzerland UN says 2.4 million refugees will need resettling in 2027 Business Line Industrial zones attract manufacturers and logistics investment In partnership with Center for the Production of Content for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[226,36],"class_list":["post-1993039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international","tag-crawlmanager","tag-euronews-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1993039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1993039\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1993039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1993039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1993039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}