🔗 Share this article

As the earliest passes for the next World Cup went on sale last week, numerous enthusiasts logged into digital waiting lists only to find out the reality of Gianni Infantino's assurance that "global fans will be welcome." The lowest-priced standard admission for the upcoming title game, located in the far-off areas of New Jersey's expansive MetLife Stadium in which players look like dots and the football is a distant rumor, comes with a cost of $2,030. Most higher-tier seats apparently cost between $2,790 and $4,210. The much-publicized $60 tickets for group-stage games, marketed by FIFA as evidence of affordability, appear as minuscule colored areas on digital seating charts, practically illusions of accessibility.

This Opaque Sales System

FIFA maintained pricing details secret until the very point of sale, replacing the usual publicly available price list with a virtual random selection that chose who even received the privilege to purchase admissions. Millions spent lengthy periods staring at a virtual line screen as computer systems established their position in the waiting list. By the time entry finally arrived for most, the cheaper sections had already disappeared, many snapped up by automated systems. This occurred before FIFA without announcement raised fees for a minimum of nine matches after just 24 hours of purchases. This complete process appeared as less a sales process and more a marketing experiment to determine how much disappointment and scarcity the fans would tolerate.

The Organization's Explanation

FIFA maintains this system only is an response to "market norms" in the United States, where the majority of fixtures will be staged, as if excessive pricing were a national custom to be respected. Actually, what's developing is barely a global festival of soccer and more a digital commerce experiment for all the elements that has made modern leisure activities so complicated. The organization has merged all the irritant of current consumer life – dynamic pricing, random selection systems, multiple logins, along with elements of a unsuccessful crypto trend – into a combined soul-deadening process created to convert admission itself into a tradable asset.

This Blockchain Connection

This story began during the digital collectible craze of 2022, when FIFA released FIFA+ Collect, promising fans "affordable possession" of online sports highlights. When the sector failed, FIFA transformed the tokens as purchase opportunities. The new scheme, advertised under the commercial "Right to Buy" name, offers supporters the opportunity to acquire NFTs that would in the future provide authorization to buy an actual match ticket. A "Final Match Option" collectible is priced at up to $999 and can be exchanged only if the buyer's selected squad reaches the title game. Otherwise, it becomes a valueless digital image.

Recent Revelations

That illusion was recently shattered when FIFA Collect representatives disclosed that the overwhelming bulk of Right to Buy owners would only be able for Category 1 and 2 seats, the highest-priced categories in FIFA's initial round at prices far beyond the budget of the typical follower. This news caused significant backlash among the digital token collectors: online forums overflowed with complaints of being "cheated" and a rapid wave to resell tokens as their worth dropped significantly.

The Pricing Situation

When the physical tickets ultimately became available, the extent of the price escalation became clear. Category 1 admissions for the penultimate matches near $3,000; quarter-finals nearly $1,700. FIFA's new dynamic pricing model means these numbers can, and likely will, increase considerably higher. This method, adopted from flight providers and Silicon Valley ticket platforms, now governs the most significant sports competition, establishing a complex and hierarchical structure separated into multiple tiers of privilege.

This Secondary Market

During past World Cups, resale prices were capped at face value. For 2026, FIFA eliminated that limitation and entered the secondary market itself. Tickets on the organization's secondary marketplace have reportedly been listed for substantial sums of dollars, such as a $2,030 admission for the championship match that was reposted the following day for $25,000. FIFA collects twice by taking a 15% fee from the original purchaser and another 15% from the new purchaser, pocketing $300 for every $1,000 traded. Representatives argue this will reduce unauthorized sellers from using external services. In practice it normalizes them, as if the most straightforward way to beat the resellers was only to host them.

Fan Response

Consumer advocates have responded with predictable disbelief and outrage. Thomas Concannon of England's Fans' Embassy labeled the fees "astonishing", observing that supporting a national side through the event on the most affordable passes would total more than double the similar trip in Qatar. Consider overseas flights, accommodation and immigration limitations, and the so-called "most accessible" World Cup to date begins to appear an awful lot like a exclusive club. Ronan Evain of Fans Europe