FIFA president Gianni Infantino defends 2026 World Cup ticket pricing, citing 150 million requests and revenue vital for global football development.
DUBAI: FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, citing overwhelming demand and the revenue’s importance for global football.
Infantino revealed that FIFA received 150 million ticket requests in just 15 days for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“We have six-seven million tickets on sale … in 15 days, we received 150 million ticket requests,” he said at the World Sports Summit.
He stated this demand equated to 10 million requests daily, demonstrating the event’s immense power.
“In the almost 100 years of history of the World Cup, FIFA has sold 44 million tickets in total,” Infantino added.
“So, in two weeks… we could’ve filled 300 years of World Cups.”
The highest number of requests came from fans in the United States, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.
Infantino’s defence follows recent criticism from fan groups over ticket costs being several times higher than for the 2022 tournament.
FIFA subsequently launched a more affordable $60 ticket tier for fans of qualified teams.
“What’s crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world,” the FIFA president emphasised.
“Without FIFA there’d be no football in 150 countries in the world.”
He stated this revenue is reinvested worldwide to support the sport’s development.
Separately, Infantino announced Dubai will host the FIFA Best Awards ceremony next year.
The awards honour the top men’s and women’s players, coaches, and teams based on votes from fans, media, captains, and coaches.
“I can announce here a new partnership we have closed together to honour the best players, coaches and teams, here in Dubai,” he said.
