FIFA’s Greediest Own Goal

There is something deeply paradoxical about the FIFA World Cup. It is the tournament that unites billions across continents, languages, and cultures — a celebration of football as the “people’s game.” And yet, in 2026, FIFA has done everything in its power to make sure ordinary people cannot attend it.

When the United States, Canada, and Mexico originally bid to host this tournament, they promised fans that a seat at the final would cost a maximum of $1,550. By April 2026, the cheapest standard final ticket had reached $5,785. The most expensive seats eventually tripled beyond that. That is not a pricing adjustment. That is a betrayal.

FIFA’s adoption of dynamic pricing — where ticket costs fluctuate based on demand — has drawn fierce criticism from supporters and fan groups alike. The model, imported wholesale from North American concert culture, has no business being applied to a global public institution funded by the passion of billions of fans worldwide. Football Supporters Europe and consumer group Euroconsumers filed a formal complaint with the European Commission, accusing FIFA of abusing its monopoly position to “impose conditions on fans that would never be acceptable in a competitive market.” They are right.

FIFA’s response has been, at best, tone-deaf. After intense backlash, FIFA offered $60 tickets to national federations for their regular supporters — but only around 10% of each association’s allocation, amounting to a few hundred seats in stadiums holding up to 80,000. A symbolic gesture that changes nothing.

Former FIFA governance committee chairman Miguel Maduro put it plainly: “You have a sport that is becoming increasingly an elite sport.” When even the sitting U.S. president — who admitted he wouldn’t pay roughly $1,000 for nosebleed seats — balks at the prices, you know something has gone fundamentally wrong.

Just two days before the tournament began, there were reports of 180,000 unsold tickets. The market, it turns out, has limits after all. What FIFA built was not a celebration of football. It was a luxury product dressed in a jersey.

The “people’s game” deserves better. So do the people.