Prosecutors said US fans deserved a chance to get affordable tickets – Image: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
US prosecutors have subpoenaed FIFA over expensive World Cup tickets, saying that the event was “not an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors.”
FIFA faces a subpoena from the states of New York and New Jersey amid an investigation into details of pricing for 2026 World Cup tickets and the accuracy of stated seat locations promised to football fans.
The tournament, the most expensive World Cup in history by a wide margin, begins in mid-June and will include games in the US, Canada and Mexico. The event has already triggered widespread criticism over a range of political and economic issues, including what the prosecutors decried as “sky-high prices for seats” on Wednesday.
What did prosecutors say about the investigation?
New York Attorney General Letitia James and her New Jersey counterpart Jennifer Davenport said in a joint statement that prices for the 2026 World Cup matches “far exceeded the prices for any previous World Cup competition.”
“New Yorkers have been waiting years for the World Cup to come to their backyard, and they deserve a fair shot at affordable tickets,” James said. “No one should be manipulated into paying sky-high prices for seats, and fans should be able to trust that the tickets they purchase will be the ones they receive.”
The World Cup final is scheduled for for July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home to the New York Giants and Jets.
“Being honest about ticket sales is not complicated. But FIFA has turned buying a ticket to the World Cup into a gauntlet of confusion, fake scarcity, and impossibly high prices,” Jennifer Davenport said.
How expensive is this World Cup?
FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino has defended its “dynamic pricing” as necessary because of the high standard prices in the US at sports events and the large global demand. He also partly blamed US laws, which make it impossible to ban ticket resale after purchase.
However, all except the lowest-cost tickets — which are comparatively few in number and only available during the low-stakes group stages — are markedly more expensive than typical sports admission fees in the US.
Entry to the final in July is set to cost ordinary fans several thousand dollars — and up to five times more than the cost of attending the thrilling final in oil-rich Qatar in 2022.
Entry to the last final in the US in 1994 was roughly 20 times cheaper.
“It’s an honor to host the World Cup, but the event is not an invitation to exploit our residents and visitors,” Davenport said.
FIFA World Cup mired in controversy
The prosecutors’ probe is by no means the first scrutiny or scandal surrounding these costs.
Supporters groups have filed a formal complaint about pricing with the EU.
Supplementary costs like parking and train tickets to stadiums have also grabbed the headlines.
FIFA has made several gestures like the very limited release of lower-price tickets, seeking to calm the waters, with little to no success.
DW.com/NAN 28-05-26
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