Soccer fans are facing soaring ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but the FA has taken action to make the matches more accessible to supporters.
The FA has put some tickets on hold for the England game (Image: Getty Images)
The Football Association has been praised for holding off on the cheapest tickets available to England supporters until the day before World Cup matches to avoid them being resold at inflated prices.
Thomas Tuchel’s side will open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday and will be cheered on by thousands of supporters. However, tournament organizer FIFA has been heavily criticized for its ticket sales practices, with some fans paying exorbitant amounts of money to attend matches.
However, England supporters will have the opportunity to buy 100 “entry tier” tickets costing $60 (£45) courtesy of the FA.
As detailed by The Times, tickets for England matches will not be released by the FA until the day before the match to prevent them from being distributed to resale sites.
FIFA argued that US law means it must allow resale of tickets at any price. They currently collect 30% of the value of each ticket sold through their official resale platform.
Coach Gianni Infantino spoke of the unprecedented demand for tickets for the tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and defended its prices.
Speaking at a press conference, he said: “If it had been sold at a lower price in this particular market, it would have disappeared – which is perfectly legal in this country… If it was sold on the secondary market for a much, much higher price, where does that money go? Well, not to football, but to the people who organize the secondary market, the black market activity.”
Gianni Infantino regularly defends his 2026 World Cup pricing strategy (Image: Getty Images)
He added: “We’re very relaxed when it comes to legal investigations and complaints that have been made in some states in the United States, because before we start selling 6.5 or 7 million tickets, we check what we’re doing with the best lawyers and the best experts. If we’re doing something wrong, then everyone selling tickets in North America is probably doing something wrong as well.”
Infantino also suggested comparing World Cup ticket prices to other sports in the country, pointing to the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs as an example of rising interest leading to higher prices.
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