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Official complaint made to European Commission over World Cup ticket prices
Martin Macdonald
- 25 Mar 2026 11:01 CDT
- 6 min read
News
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has filed an official complaint with the European Commission over FIFA's distribution of exorbitant match ticket prices for the upcoming World Cup.
The next edition of the tournament will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico and will feature 48 nations, an increase on 32 from the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Even though a ball hasn't been kicked, the 2026 World Cup has been shrouded in controversy and one of the main reasons for the negativity is the price of tickets.
FIFA has dynamic pricing in place which means increased demand leads to a significant increase in prices.
Group stage matches are, on average, three times as expensive as the last World Cup, while the cheapest ticket for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is $4,185 – more than seven times the cost of the cheapest 2022 World Cup final ticket.
The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) previously described the pricing as "scandalous".
A statement from the FSA this week said that FIFA had "abused its monopoly position to impose excessive ticket prices alongside opaque and unfair purchasing conditions and processes."
Ronan Evain, executive director at FSE, said: “For several months now we have urged FIFA to do right by fans and reconsider its aggressive and exploitative ticketing policies.
“FIFA’s failure to engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders yet again has left us with no option but to join forces with Euroconsumers in filing this complaint with the European Commission.
“FIFA point to their unconfirmed sales figures as validation of their unfair ticket practices, while the reality is they leave loyal fans with no other choice – pay up or lose out.”
Euroconsumers, who have led the legal action against dynamic pricing, want the European Commission to intervene so that ticket prices can be lowered before the tournament this summer.
“Football is a universal passion, but FIFA is treating it like a private luxury by exploiting its absolute monopoly over World Cup ticketing," Marco Scialdone, head of litigation at Euroconsumers, said.
“By imposing opaque pricing, dark patterns to pressure buyers and exorbitant resale fees, FIFA is placing an unfair financial burden on millions of European fans.”
Infantino defends World Cup ticket prices
FIFA president Gianni Infantino brushed aside these criticisms by outlining the numbers of ticket requests FIFA has received for the tournament.
"We have six to seven million tickets on sale and in 15 days we received 150 million ticket requests," the FIFA president said at the World Sports Summit in Dubai in December.
"So 10 million ticket requests every single day. It shows how powerful the World Cup is.
"In the almost 100 years of the World Cup, Fifa has sold 44 million tickets in total. So, in two weeks we could have filled 300 years of World Cups. Imagine that. This is absolutely crazy."
He also insisted that the money earned from ticket sales will be reinvested in the infrastructure of the game all over the world.
"What's crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world," Infantino explained.
"Without Fifa there would be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup which we reinvest all over the world."
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