World Cup 2026 tickets draw criticism as reports warn of $1,000 group-stage prices

The 2026 World Cup ticketing approach has come under renewed criticism asourceser reports suggested some early group-stage matches involving a host nation could be priced as high as $1,000.

The tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, begins on 11 June. Critics argue FIFA has moved away from the uniform group-stage pricing used at some recent World Cups. Instead, prices for group matches are reported to be set according to the perceived popularity of the teams involved.

Concerns have also been raised about FIFA’s official resale platform. Reports say tickets listed for resale can be offered at substantially higher prices, while FIFA takes a 30% fee on each resale transaction — 15% from the buyer and 15% from the seller.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the strategy, saying pricing is in line with other major sporting events in the United States. He has also argued that if tickets are initially set too low in a market where resale is permitted, they may be quickly resold at much higher prices.

Following the initial backlash, FIFA introduced a limited number of lower-priced tickets — reported at £45 — across all 104 matches.

Separate measures have also been taken in at least one host region to curb price inflation. In Toronto, matches can only be resold at face value because of a recent Ontario government ban on reselling event tickets above their original price.