Donald Trump admits even he wouldn't pay FIFA's astronomical World Cup ticket prices

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

United States President Donald Trump says even he would have an issue with paying some of the exorbitant prices of World Cup match tickets.

FIFA implemented dynamic ticket pricing for this tournament, which means increased demand led to increased ticket costs.

They also hold an official resale platform in which they are owed 15% of the profit from any tickets sold on the secondary market.

FIFA are struggling to sell out the USMNT's opening match of the 2026 World Cup to the point where USA vs Paraguay is currently being outsold by Iran vs New Zealand. In the first match of Group D, the US will play at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles which has a capacity of around 70,000 spectators for NFL matches.

The group stage matches went on sale in October and the match between USA and Paraguay was the third-most expensive in the entire tournament, behind only the World Cup final and one semi-final. Category 1 and Category 2 tickets, priced at $2,730 and $1,940, have remained available up until May.

One month before the tournament, USMNT fans are still baullking at lower-priced tickets which are coming in at around $1,000.

It seems Trump has been aware of the pricing scandal surrounding the World Cup.

“I did not know that number,” the president said in a phone call interview with the New York Post on Wednesday.

“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you. I haven’t seen that, but I would have to take a look at it.

“If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed, but, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success. I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go.”

Embarassingly for Gianni Infantino, Trump's comments came just a few hours after the FIFA president defended the price of World Cup match tickets.

"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," Infantino said on Tuesday at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills.

"And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.

"We have 25% of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300."

Infantino also referenced the now-infamous $2m ticket for the World Cup final that was seen on one resale platform. He joked that if anyone bought it, he would present them with a hot dog and a coke at the game.