The FIFA World Cup kicks off in exactly 50 days in North America. This Wednesday, FIFA launches the final phase of its ticket sales at 17:00 PM (CET) on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets will be expensive, as the governing body warns that The available seats will cover categories 1 to 3, as well as the front rows. At this stage, more than five million tickets "have been sold, according to FIFA. Given that nearly seven million tickets are available, it can be estimated that around one and a half million remain to be sold. But the federation is not worried."
A new category that further inflates prices
FIFA always sees the glass as half full, so it warns: Additional tickets will be released regularly until the final (subject to availability). Given the nature of this sale and the success of previous sales phases, fans will likely have to wait in digital queues to allow FIFA to provide everyone with the best possible experience. "The organization knows that demand is high, and it is taking full advantage of this in terms of pricing."
In early April, the company created a "Category 1 front" section, which it had never previously advertised. Essentially a premium Category 1, with even higher prices. The seats closest to the field cost $900 for a game like the one between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, two relatively modest teams, in Houston. For fans wanting the best seats for the Canada-Bosnia and Herzegovina match, the price could climb as high as $3.360. This strategy left a bitter taste for some potential buyers, who were discouraged, as well as for those who had already purchased Category 1 tickets, who realized they wouldn't be as well-positioned as they had expected.
The United States is far from being full
Always well-informed The Athletic A document dated April 10th recently reported that 40.934 tickets were sold for the United States' first match against Paraguay in Los Angeles. This is not a very good figure considering that 50.661 tickets were purchased for the match between Iran and New Zealand, which will take place in the same stadium. FIFA's pricing is certainly a major factor: tickets go up to $2.730, with other categories reaching $1.940 and $1.120. And this is for a first-round match, it should be noted. This proves that fans are not ready to accept everything, and that FIFA is not truly in tune with those without whom football " is nothing " said Gianni Infantino.
The federation president remains consistent and reiterates his position at every public address: All the stadiums will be packed to the rafters. "The stakes are high for FIFA, whose image was damaged by the images of sparsely populated stadiums last summer during the Club World Cup. Speaking at the Semafor summit in Washington, Infantino indicated that FIFA could have already sold all the tickets, but that it preferred..." keep some on sale until the start of the tournament to give latecomers a chance. The resale platform already offers opportunities to those who wait until the last minute, so FIFA's idea is probably something else: to maximize its revenue by selling very expensive tickets just a few weeks before the event, when it will be in an even stronger position. Yes, the money will then be reinvested around the world for the development of football. But in the meantime, it's the fans who are paying the price.
