The insane demand for the 2026 World Cup... 150 million ticket requests are not enough for everyone!

 

2026 World Cup

The insane demand for the 2026 World Cup... 150 million ticket requests are not enough for everyone!

FIFA President Gianni Infantino rejected criticism of World Cup ticket prices , stating that the revenue was needed to support football around the world.

FIFA said on Monday that it had received more than 150 million ticket requests midway through the final sales phase, which began about a week after the group stage draw on December 5.
He noted that the World Cup saw demand for tickets more than 30 times the number of available tickets, and that demand was 3.4 times greater than the total attendance in all previous editions of the World Cup, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
The Athletic quoted Infantino on Monday during the World Sports Summit in Dubai as saying: "The crucial thing is that the revenue generated from this goes back to the game around the world."

He added: "Without FIFA, football would not exist in 150 countries around the world. Football exists thanks to, and because of, these revenues that we generate with and through the World Cup, which we reinvest all over the world."

The Athletic reported that a FIFA spokesperson had previously stated that the organization plans to reinvest approximately 90% of its 2023/2026 income in football "to drive the growth of the game across all 211 FIFA associations worldwide" and "significantly enhance the development of football globally."
He added: "Without FIFA's financial support, more than 50% of member associations would not function."

Tickets for the tournament, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 in America, Canada and Mexico, are more expensive than in previous editions, and with the number of participating teams increasing from 32 to 48, 104 matches will be played instead of 64.
Fans criticized the prices, with Football Supporters Europe describing them as "outrageous" and a "great betrayal".
FIFA responded by offering a limited number of tickets at a price of 60 euros within the quotas allocated to participating teams.