Donald Trump helped bring the 2026 FIFA World Cup to the United States during his first term as President, an accomplishment he takes great pride in. He is far less excited about what tickets to watch the U.S. Men's National Team's games will cost American supporters, and he made that clear.
In a short telephone conversation with the New York Post on Wednesday, Trump responded with apparent shock when informed that seats for the United States' opening group match against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles were beginning at approximately $1,000.
"I did not know that number," Trump said. "I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended ticket prices on Wednesday -Credit:Luiza Moraes - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
He indicated his administration might examine the situation more carefully, voicing specific worry that the costs were excluding the working-class supporters he considers his political base.
"If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can't go, I would be disappointed," he said. "I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go."
He fell short of announcing any official intervention, recognizing the tournament's commercial triumph in the same moment. "I know that is extremely successful. Setting every record in the book. They've never had anything like it."
The average price of a ticket to the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19 is nearly $13,000, compared to roughly $1,600 for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar , as per The Mirror US . One resale listing on FIFA's own secondary marketplace was posted at $2,299,998.85.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, actually joked about the latter figure , personally promising to deliver "a hot dog and a Coke" to any fan who paid it. He defended the wider pricing model by citing the scale of demand.
"We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates," Infantino said. "In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price."
Independent market data undermines that argument. Gilad Zilberman, CEO of secondary market comparison site SeatPick, told Deutsche Welle that at the end of April, 72 percent of games where comparable data was available showed secondary market tickets coming in cheaper than FIFA's own prices.
"I think prices will drop. That's my gut feeling. I think FIFA is struggling," he said. He characterized dynamic pricing as outside FIFA's area of expertise, stating the organization gets "stuck with a lot of tickets" as a result.
The hospitality sector data reinforces the image of a tournament that has moved tickets in substantial volumes but has failed to produce the expected influx of overseas visitors.
Kansas City, home to Arrowhead Stadium, has underperformed the most versus expectations with regard to hotel bookings for the World Cup -Credit:Jamie Squire/Getty Images
A study from the American Hotel and Lodging Association revealed that nearly 80 percent of hotels in the 11 U.S. host cities were operating beneath original World Cup forecasts.
In Kansas City, between 85 and 90 percent of operators reported demand lagging behind even a standard June or July without a major event. Visa complications, elevated airfares and geopolitical tensions have deterred international travelers, leaving domestic supporters, who can afford to hold out for price reductions, as the main demographic.
