FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the ticket prices for 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada, which has been by far the most expensive World Cup due to varying prices that rise according to demand. Speaking at the World Sports Summit in Dubai, Infantino was proud of the demand, saying that "in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups".
Infantino's claims come after they have received 150 million ticket requests and have six to seven million tickets on sale. "10 million ticket requests every single day. In the almost 100 years of the World Cup, Fifa has sold 44 million tickets in total. So, in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that."
"It shows how powerful the World Cup is. This is absolutely crazy", Infantino said (via BBC Sport), while briefly addressing the prices that some football fans associations labelled as outrageous.
"What's crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world" said Infantino. "Without FIFA there would be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup which we reinvest all over the world."
As a response to the complaints, FIFA launched $60 tickets for World Cup, but some found that the measure was still lacking.