Why are World Cup tickets so expensive?

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]If you want to be at the World Cup final, it's going to cost you as much as $10,990 for the most expensive seats. That's a big jump from the last World Cup in Qatar, where the best seats at the final were $1,600.

[00:00:13]Even if you cough up thousands, you might not get what you've paid for. The New York Attorney General has opened an inquiry into FIFA's ticketing practices after some fans complained the tickets they received were in a cheaper category than what they'd bought. So, why are they so expensive? For the first time at a World Cup, FIFA is using dynamic pricing like an airline. So, the more people want a ticket, the more expensive it will be. FIFA expects to make $3 billion from ticket sales, part of a total $8.9 billion in revenue from the World Cup. FIFA gets to keep the money from ticket sales as well as sponsorship, broadcasting, and even services like parking fees at stadiums, and it doesn't have to pay US tax on any of that. FIFA says the World Cup is costing it $3.8 billion to stage, including all the prize money. Host cities have to pay for things like security and transport, which is why there was a row over New Jersey charging World Cup fans $150 for a train ticket from Manhattan to the stadium. That price has been cut to 98 after a fan backlash, but the journey would usually cost $12.90. New Jersey's governor said it would cost her state $48 million to safely transport 40,000 fans to and from every match, so she had to pass that cost on to fans because FIFA doesn't cover it. So, at that price, will seats be empty? FIFA says it had more than 500 million ticket requests for about 7 million seats, but on its official resale platform, tickets for dozens of matches are still up for grabs.