FIFA has made a rare and significant U-turn on World Cup ticket pricing following intense global backlash, announcing drastic reductions that will allow some of football’s most loyal supporters to attend matches for as little as 60 dollars.
The decision comes after widespread criticism over previously announced ticket prices that would have seen fans pay up to 4,185 dollars for a seat at the World Cup final. The revised pricing represents an unusual climbdown by and its president, , amid growing concerns that the world’s biggest football tournament was becoming inaccessible to ordinary supporters.
Under the new arrangement, FIFA says 60-dollar tickets will be available for every match at the , which will be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico. These discounted tickets will not be sold through the general public sales system but instead allocated to national football federations.
According to FIFA, each federation will receive between 400 and 750 tickets under a newly introduced “Supporter Entry Tier.” National associations will then be responsible for distributing the tickets to fans considered loyal supporters — typically those who regularly follow their national teams both domestically and internationally.
The move appears designed to soften criticism that FIFA’s commercial strategy prioritises revenue over supporters, especially as the 2026 tournament expands to 48 teams and 16 host cities. The expanded format is expected to make the event the largest World Cup in history, both in scale and financial returns.
FIFA has projected that the tournament will generate at least 10 billion dollars in revenue, reinforcing expectations that it will also become the most expensive World Cup ever for fans in terms of travel, accommodation and standard ticket pricing.
Critics argue that while the introduction of a low-cost ticket tier is welcome, it benefits only a limited number of supporters and does little to address broader affordability concerns. With hundreds of thousands of seats available across the tournament, the discounted allocation represents only a small fraction of total tickets.
Nevertheless, football analysts see the decision as a symbolic acknowledgement that FIFA underestimated the intensity of public frustration. Ticket pricing had become a flashpoint in debates about the commercialisation of the sport and the growing gap between football’s governing bodies and grassroots supporters.
Despite the controversy, demand for World Cup tickets remains overwhelming. FIFA reported receiving more than 20 million ticket requests during the most recent sales phase, underscoring the tournament’s enduring global appeal even amid rising costs.
Whether the price cut marks a genuine shift in FIFA’s approach or a limited concession aimed at easing criticism remains to be seen. For now, the move has been welcomed by fan groups as a small but meaningful victory in the fight to keep football accessible to those who have long formed the heartbeat of the game.
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