A late reversal opens limited access to $60 tickets, raising bigger questions about affordability, transparency, and who the World Cup is really for
After weeks of mounting criticism from fans around the world, FIFA has quietly lowered the price of a small portion of tickets for the 2026 World Cup, allowing a limited number of loyal supporters to attend matches — including the final — for as little as $60, instead of prices that had reached over $4,000.
The move marks a rare public retreat by FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, amid growing frustration over ticket pricing, resale policies, and concerns that the tournament is drifting further away from everyday fans — including working families across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the tournament’s three host nations.
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding to 48 teams and spanning 16 host cities, with 11 NFL stadiums in the U.S., two venues in Canada, and three in Mexico. FIFA expects the tournament to generate at least $10 billion in revenue, making ticket access a defining issue long before kickoff.
Under the revised plan, each qualified national team will receive an allocation of roughly 400 to 750 tickets in what FIFA now calls a “basic fan tier.” These tickets will be sold for $60 and distributed through national federations to supporters deemed “most loyal” — typically those who have attended past home or away matches.
FIFA said the lower prices are intended to help fans follow their teams throughout the tournament. But it has not explained why this option was excluded from the original sales strategy.
Supporter organizations were quick to respond.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE), which represents grassroots fan groups across multiple countries, described the change as damage control, not reform.
“This shows FIFA’s ticket policy is not set in stone and was rushed through without proper consultation,” the group said, adding that the reduction affects only a tiny fraction of available seats.
For many U.S. Latino families, the World Cup is more than a sporting event. It’s cultural, generational, and deeply emotional — tied to national pride, migration stories, and shared viewing traditions.
That’s why ticket prices as high as $140 to $265 for group-stage matches — and much higher for games involving global stars like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil, or England — sparked immediate backlash.
The frustration cuts deeper because when the U.S., Mexico, and Canada won the hosting bid in 2018, organizers publicly promised hundreds of thousands of tickets priced around $21, positioning the tournament as accessible to families and longtime supporters.
Eight years later, many fans feel that promise has quietly disappeared.
Criticism has also focused on FIFA’s use of dynamic pricing — where ticket costs rise based on demand — and its decision to act as its own resale platform, a move that critics say prioritizes revenue over fairness.
Tensions escalated further when fans learned that:
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Loyal supporters would not have access to the cheapest ticket categories
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Fans who applied for full tournament packages would not receive refunds for unplayed matches until after the World Cup ends
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Administrative fees would still apply in many cases
FIFA later said it would waive administrative fees for fans who apply through national federations and whose teams are eliminated in the group stage.
Despite the controversy, FIFA reports receiving more than 20 million ticket requests in the latest sales phase — a figure that underscores the tournament’s popularity, but also the imbalance between demand and affordability.
Disability Access Raises New Concerns
Even before the price reversal, disability advocates raised alarms about ticket access.
FSE reported that FIFA’s resale platform was listing accessible seats at several times their face value, without guarantees they would go to fans with disabilities. Unlike at the Qatar World Cup, disabled fans are no longer guaranteed free companion tickets.
The group pointed to past comments by Infantino emphasizing inclusion, calling on FIFA to back up rhetoric with policy.
“Real inclusion requires action, not populist statements,” FSE said, urging FIFA to honor its commitments to disabled supporters.
In announcing the $60 ticket tier, FIFA emphasized that it is a nonprofit organization, stating that World Cup revenue is reinvested into men’s, women’s, and youth football across its 211 member federations.
That claim, while technically accurate, has done little to calm fans who argue that a tournament built on global passion should not feel financially out of reach to the very communities that sustain it.
The introduction of lower-priced tickets signals that public pressure works — but also highlights how limited fan influence remains once commercial strategies are set.
For U.S. fans, especially Latinos who make up one of the sport’s most dedicated audiences, the 2026 World Cup represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity on home soil.
Whether FIFA will expand affordable access beyond a symbolic number of seats remains an open question.
For now, the message from supporters is clear: the world’s game cannot belong only to those who can afford it.
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