FIFA President Gianni Infantino has appeared to blame the US resale market for sky-high World Cup prices
He claimed this week that officials inflated prices for this summer’s games, where the cost of a ticket to the final is nearly $13,000, compared to about $1,600 for the 2022 championship, because resellers in the US would charge exorbitant fees anyway.
“We have to look at the market. We are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,” Infantino said Tuesday at the glitzy Milken Institute conference in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“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,” he said of the prices that are out of reach for many hard-working Americans.
Tickets for the US Men’s soccer team’s opening match on June 12 against Paraguay start at $1,000. Prices rocket into several thousand dollars for knockout rounds, and resale vultures are asking as much as $2.2 million for four seats for the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
The staggering prices being demanded by ticket scalpers for the final sparked a tongue-in-cheek VIP service offer from one of global football’s highest-paid executives, who himself earns around $6 million annually.
“If somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience,” he said.
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