All World Cup matches sold out, says FIFA’s Gianni Infantino

WASHINGTON – All 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be “sold out”, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Feb 18, even though tickets are still available ahead of the tournament’s June 11 kick-off.

“The demand is there. Every match is sold out,” Infantino told CNBC.

Infantino, in an interview from US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said that there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks for some seven million available tickets.

He said requests during the main sales phase in January came from more than 200 countries.

“(We’ve) never see anything like that – incredible,” said Infantino, adding that football’s global governing body has kept “some tickets back” for the last-minute sales phase that will begin in April and run until the end of the World Cup on July 19.

Infantino addressed the issue of ticket prices, described as “exorbitant” by supporters’ associations and which have already reached record levels on resale sites.

As at Feb 11, a Category 3 seat – the highest section of the stands – for the tournament’s opening game between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on June 11 was listed at US$5,324 (S$6,700), compared to an original price of US$895.

One Category 3 seat for the World Cup final on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, meanwhile, was being advertised for an eye-watering US$143,750 – more than 41 times its original face value of US$3,450.

The cheapest available ticket for the final on the resale site was listed at US$9,775.

“I think it is because it’s in America, Canada and Mexico,” Infantino said. “Everybody wants to be part of something special.

“Ticket prices have been fixed but you have, in the US in particular, something called dynamic prices, meaning the prices will go up or down.

“You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up.

“That’s part of the market we are in.”

Ticketing has become one of the most controversial issues surrounding the World Cup, with fan groups around the world such as Football Supporters Europe accusing FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” over pricing.

That in turn prompted FIFA to introduce a sliver of tickets priced at US$60 for official supporters’ groups.

Critics maintain the cut-price category does not go far enough in addressing the problem.

Infantino estimated that the first 48-team World Cup would bring FIFA some US$11 billion or more in revenue, adding that “every dollar” will be reinvested in football in FIFA’s 211 member countries.

He put the World Cup’s impact on the US economy at around US$30 billion “in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on”.

Infantino estimated that in addition to seven million spectators, the World Cup would also attract 20 to 30 million tourists and create “185,000 full-time jobs”.

“It’s a big impact,” he said. “I hope this impact will not just be limited to the World Cup but for the future as well.” AFP