Ticket pricing has drawn criticism since sales began in October but Fifa president says high costs are unavoidable
Gianni Infantino has defended the pricing of tickets for this summer’s World Cup, saying that Fifa operates as a non-profit organisation but only has one month in four years to raise funds.
The president of the world football governing body said the World Cup is Fifa’s only major source of revenue.
“The main, and so far the only, revenue-generating event for Fifa is the World Cup,” Infantino said. “The World Cup takes place one month every four years, so we generate money in one month. The 47 months until the next World Cup, we spend that money.
“What many people don’t know, because of course we generate billions in a World Cup, people don’t know Fifa is a not-for profit organisation, which means all the revenue we generate, we invest them in the organisation of the game, in 211 countries all over the world.
“Three quarters of which probably would not be able to have organised football without the grants we could give them, so we always try to find the right balance.”
Ticket pricing has drawn criticism since sales began in October, with increases reported during the most recent sales phase and confusion over newly introduced ticket categories. Fans’ groups have lodged a complaint with the European Commission on grounds of excessive pricing and unfair ticket-purchasing conditions.
But Infantino described the US ticketing environment as a “special market” and compared the World Cup to other major events like a concert or an NFL game, saying “no one complains” about prices for those events.
When challenged, he responded: “Maybe, but it’s the market.”
Beyond ticketing, Infantino said Fifa is working with authorities in the US, Canada and Mexico to address concerns around travel restrictions for fans. Recent US immigration policies have affected entry for nationals from several countries, including teams participating in the World Cup such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran and Haiti.
“We will make sure that all the teams, players, officials can come, including of course family members and even fans,” Infantino said. “Of course, there always needs to be a visa.”
