During the waning week of 2025, FIFA President Gianni Infantino closed out the year by defending the current prices for the upcoming men’s World Cup. And those prices, which he called an effect created by incredible demand (and FIFA’s dynamic pricing structure), remain on the steeper side, especially in comparison to the 2022 version of the event in Qatar.
Prices for some of the less desirable matchups have marched downhill since the World Cup draw in early December: Cabo Verde-Saudi Arabia on June 26, according to TicketData.com, now features a get-in price of $209 (opposed to U.S. or Canada matches ranging between $598-$1,721) as of early last week.
The soaring prices overall, some contend, pose bigger issues than just empty-looking stadiums for the matchups that don’t feature the star power of Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
Jeffrey Lolli, Widener University professor of sport and event management with decades of experience in hospitality, worries about the head-on collision of the premium-like prices with the accessibility that fans domestically may be used to from MLS games. “Soccer in the U.S., it’s always been that kind of grassroots, family-oriented kind of sport,” Lolli said. “I can take my family there [to an MLS game] and it’s not going to break the bank.”
Lolli added to the chorus of people who see FIFA capitalizing on the U.S. sports environment, which features robust corporate sponsors, premium seating options and rising franchise valuations. And with the test run of the Club World Cup last year, empty seats were covered frequently as a defining trait of that tournament’s debut.
Jim McCarthy, a longtime ticketing executive, said the sports industry is awash with unsold tickets. The issue has prompted his most recent venture, Impresario Strategic Growth Service, which works with clubs such as the USL Championship’s Orange County SC, the Scottish Championship’s St. Johnstone FC and the A-League’s Melbourne Victory FC to grow their fan bases and revenue.
McCarthy pointed out that this is not the World Cup of old, as it offers more teams and games than ever. That means more matchups are harder sells than perhaps previously (see the aforementioned Cabo Verde-Saudi Arabia tilt). McCarthy sees FIFA’s ability to react to demand, or drop prices when the interest does not manifest, as crucially important for the event that helps to fund so much of what it does internationally for the sport.
“Nobody is bigger than the market,” McCarthy said. “FIFA are not bigger than the market. The World Cup’s not bigger than the market.
“So if they come into this with the idea that essentially the ceiling on the prices is unlimited, they will find that that’s not true.”