The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a mere 42 days away from kick-off in Mexico City, with 104 games across just over one month set to take place at 16 venues throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada .
However, as has been a major talking point since the first batch of tickets was released back in September 2025, the cost for fans is proving to be astronomical for those outside of the top 1%. In fact, even U.S. Men's National Team legend Kasey Keller recently spoke out against the "outrageous" prices .
This is thanks in no small part to FIFA's newly implemented dynamic pricing model, which, as it did for the Club World Cup last year, allows ticket prices to fluctuate depending on demand and availability.
FIFA is said to be expecting to have earned $13 billion from this World Cup cycle -Credit:Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images
But what is also proving costly is the ever-profitable resale market, which, for the 2026 tournament, all runs through FIFA itself.
While Mexico and some parts of Canada, including the province of Ontario, cap resale prices at the original total value of the ticket, no such law is in place in the United States.
A prime example of the dramatic impact this has had on ticket prices is the all-important final, for which the least expensive option on the resale market, as of April 30, is over $10,300, with the most expensive being an eye-watering $11.5 million.
And the story doesn't get any better for wheelchair users or those requiring easy access, with these available for just shy of $15,000.
All of this is a far cry from the original prices, with FIFA telling The Guardian that over 1,000 tickets for the final were initially sold for $60.
But while the costs associated with this World Cup may be frustrating many, and quite simply pricing other fans out of even contemplating attending, FIFA President Gianni Infantino insists that the demand has been astronomical.
In March, Infantino told CNBC that the global governing body of soccer had received more than 500 million ticket requests, with just seven million seats available for the 104-game tournament.
"In the last four weeks, we have had requests for a thousand years of World Cups," he said. "We have received ticket requests from over 200 countries as everyone wants to be part of something special.
"The prices have been fixed, but in the U.S. there is a thing called dynamic pricing, which means they can go up as well as down. That's part of the market we're in. It's not a problem as the demand is there."
More to the point, neither Infantino nor FIFA as a whole will likely be the least bit fazed by the critics, which include almost 70 U.S. Congresspeople who pushed the body to drop its ticket prices in March via a letter. This letter also called on FIFA to help host cities struggling to shoulder the financial burden, as per The Athletic .
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino recently defended the use of dynamic pricing -Credit:Alex Wong/Getty Images
Such burden includes ferrying fans back and forth from venues, which has led to New Jersey, for example, to increase its usual $12.90 subway prices for a return between Penn Station and the Meadowlands, home to MetLife Stadium, where the final will be held, to $150 between certain hours on gamedays.
Ultimately, FIFA is set to rake in an estimated $13 billion by the end of the tournament and this latest four-year World Cup cycle, via The Guardian. This is because nearly $9 billion is expected to have been generated in 2026 alone.
