FIFA expects a record $5 billion from ticket sales and hospitality at the 2026 World Cup
Kyiv • UNN
FIFA expects around $5 billion from tickets and hospitality at the 2026 World Cup — five times more than in Qatar. The tournament was attended by 6.81 million fans.
FIFA is expected to receive around $5 billion from ticket sales and hospitality services at the 2026 World Cup — more than five times what it earned at the tournament in Qatar four years ago. UNN reports this, citing The New York Times.
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino previously announced that this year's World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, generated $15 billion in revenue, $2 billion more than expected.
This means that one-third of this revenue came solely from ticket sales and hospitality services, although the $5 billion figure is part of an ongoing audit, so it could be slightly higher or lower.
The 2026 World Cup included 40 more matches (104) than Qatar (64), while ticket sales and hospitality services at the 2022 tournament generated $929 million in revenue.
The governing body of world football was widely condemned for its ticketing policy at this year's tournament, introducing dynamic pricing for the first time and also receiving a 30 percent commission on any resale.
One consequence of FIFA not allowing a traditional secondary ticket market in the United States and instead permitting resales only through its own platform was that it prevented money from going to advertising intermediaries and, as the governing body says, from being reinvested in world football.
The initial prices announced before the tournament were the highest in World Cup history, with tickets for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, United States, on July 19 starting at $4,185 — seven times the price of the cheapest ticket for the 2022 final in Qatar.
In response to what they called "sky-high" prices, Football Supporters Europe and Euroconsumers, a consumer protection organization, filed an official complaint with the European Commission. FIFA has consistently defended the prices, pointing out that any revenue generated from ticket sales will ultimately be reinvested back into football, and also noting that they reflect the North American market, where it is not uncommon to pay hundreds of dollars to attend sporting events.
However, following widespread negative reaction, they introduced a limited number — 1,000 tickets priced at $60 — for each of the 104 World Cup matches.
FIFA emphasized that the tournament was attended by "an unprecedented 6.81 million fans" and that the "attendance rate" was "99.7 percent across all matches."
"The revenue generated by the tournament will provide unprecedented resources for FIFA's member associations to invest in the game, such as supporting the development of men's, women's and youth football across all 211 FIFA member associations every day of the year," a FIFA spokesperson added.
"As announced earlier this month following the FIFA Council meeting in Zurich, the FIFA administration presented the FIFA Council with a proposed initiative called the \"FIFA Surplus Solidarity Program\", which envisages using part of FIFA's reserves to more than double the level of planned funding for the 2027–2030 period to $6.35 billion," the statement said.