Gianni Infantino has defended the cost of attending the 2026 World Cup, arguing that Fifa was effectively compelled to align its pricing with United States legislation permitting tickets to be resold at significant multiples of their face value. The Guardian reported the remarks, which come as the governing body faces sustained pressure over what critics have described as a pricing structure designed to extract maximum revenue from the tournament's North American setting.
Football Supporters Europe, the pan-continental fan organisation, has been among the most vocal critics, according to the Guardian. FSE has characterised the pricing structure as "extortionate" and, in stronger terms, a "monumental betrayal" of the supporters the tournament is ostensibly staged to serve. The group went further than public statements in March, filing a lawsuit with the European Commission targeting Fifa over what it described as excessive ticket prices for the competition.
The detail of Infantino's defence is notable. Rather than contest the scale of the prices, he appears to have grounded his justification in the legal architecture of the host market — the argument being that where resale at inflated values is permitted, Fifa would be leaving money on the table by pricing at levels associated with European tournaments. Separately, the Guardian reports that Fifa collects a thirty per cent cut from the secondary market, giving the body a direct commercial interest in high resale activity.
The position is likely to harden opposition among supporter groups, who have long argued that World Cup ticketing systematically disadvantages ordinary fans in favour of corporate buyers and resellers. FSE's decision to involve the European Commission signals that the dispute will not remain a matter of public relations: it now has a legal dimension that could yet carry consequences for how Fifa structures its commercial arrangements in future tournaments, even those held outside European jurisdiction.
With the tournament still more than a year away, the pricing row is already shaping the political atmosphere around the 2026 edition. Whether Infantino's remarks satisfy the governing body's members, sponsors, and the broader football public remains doubtful. What is clear is that Fifa has chosen, at least for now, to stand behind its pricing model rather than revisit it.