2026 WORLD CUP GREED? WHY FIFA’S RESALE RULES ARE A BETRAYAL OF REAL FANS
Gianni Infantino admits World Cup 2026 ticket prices will soar due to legal reselling, with final tickets already hitting $230,000.
Just a little over four months before the World Cup kicks off, FIFA president Gianni Infantino dropped some news that’s got a lot of fans worried about ticket prices.
Lately, people have been stressing out over how much it’ll cost to see a match. The tournament’s happening across the US, Mexico, and Canada, and tickets have been a hot topic. Turns out, the fears were justified. On Friday, Infantino admitted that resellers are about to send prices through the roof for this summer’s games.
At the World Economic Forum, Infantino pointed out that, in the US, it’s totally legal to resell tickets on online platforms. “There’s a law for that, so we have to allow it,” he explained. He went on to say that every single one of the 104 games will probably sell out, thanks to sky-high demand—and resellers are going to make things even tougher for regular fans.
Take the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, for example. On FIFA’s own resale site, tickets are already popping up for as much as $230,000. Yeah, you read that right. Infantino said, “You can be sure these tickets, which we’ll have to draw lots for because every game will be sold out, will be resold for even more.” He couldn’t stop talking about how wild the demand is—he compared it to a thousand years of World Cups all rolled into this one. “It’s incredible,” he said. Well, that’s one word for it. Plenty of fans would probably argue it’s just frustrating.
FIFA’s resale site gets a 30% cut of every sale, by the way. The most expensive final ticket is listed at $230,000, while the cheapest Category 1 ticket is nearly $17,000. Compare that to the original ticket price—somewhere between $4,000 and $8,000—and it’s clear prices have shot up. And don’t get too comfortable with those numbers either, since dynamic pricing means they’re bound to change.
It’s not just the final, either. For the US vs. Paraguay in LA, top-tier resale tickets range from about $3,700 to over $100,000.
All this comes after Infantino’s earlier insistence that ticket prices were fair. Back in December, he boasted about the record demand: “We’ve got six to seven million tickets for sale, and in just 15 days, we got 150 million requests. That’s 10 million requests a day. The World Cup is just that big.” He’s proud of the chaos, calling it “absolutely crazy.”
He also tried to reassure everyone that all this money is going back into football. “What matters is that the profits go back into the game worldwide. Without FIFA, there wouldn’t be football in 150 countries. It’s because of these World Cup revenues that we can invest everywhere,” he said.
After a huge backlash, FIFA promised that a small batch of tickets—about 10% of each country’s allocation—would go for a more reasonable $61. Not much, but it’s something. Still, with prices soaring everywhere else, that’s little comfort for most fans just hoping to see their team play.
THOMAS TUCHEL NAMES EXPANDED ENGLAND SQUAD FEATURING FOUR SURPRISE NEW INCLUSIONS
Thomas Tuchel hands maiden England call-ups to James Garner and Jason Steele while omitting Trent Alexander-Arnold.
James Garner from Everton and Brighton’s goalkeeper Jason Steele have earned their first call-ups to the England squad. Alongside them, AC Milan’s defender Fikayo Tomori and Tottenham’s forward Dominic Solanke have also been included. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw did not make the cut this time.
Jude Bellingham, despite being sidelined since early February due to a hamstring injury, is still part of the squad. Experienced centre-back Harry Maguire, now 33, has the chance to add to his 64 caps, while 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who started in the Euro 2024 final, is also selected. Both last represented England in September 2024 but have been rewarded for Manchester United’s recent good form, which has lifted them to third place in the Premier League.
Luke Shaw, pushing for inclusion, has been overlooked once again. Instead, Tuchel has called up Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, marking his first call-up since Tuchel took over.
This squad is larger than usual, with players arriving in two phases during the international window. Tuchel explained on the Football Association’s website that the first group includes players who haven’t played much recently, aiming to broaden competition for spots in the upcoming US tour. Then, from Friday to Saturday, another group will join, including some who’ve had a short rest, to mix things up for the match against Japan.
England will face Uruguay at Wembley on March 27, followed by a home game against Japan on March 31. Looking ahead, the World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with England considered among the contenders.
Here’s the full squad breakdown:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle), Jason Steele (Brighton)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)
WHY CAF STRIPPED SENEGAL OF THEIR AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS TITLE
Following a final walk-off, Senegal has lost its AFCON trophy in the boardroom, prompting an appeal to CAS by the FSF.
Moussa Niakhate finally spoke out after the Confederation of African Football’s shocking decision to take Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy away. After that wild walk-off in the final against Morocco, CAF backed an appeal and handed the host nation a 3-0 win by default. Senegalese players were furious; who wouldn’t be?
The boardroom decision completely flipped African football on its head. Two months after the final, the CAF Appeal Board tossed out Senegal’s victory and gave Morocco the win. It all started deep into stoppage time when VAR gave Morocco a penalty. Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s manager, lost it and told his players to leave the field. Eventually, they came back and finished the match. Still, officials said the walk-off broke tournament rules, so they took the title away. Brutal.
Niakhate, the 30-year-old defender who was key in Senegal’s backline, got asked about it before Lyon’s Europa League match with Celta. He’d already posted a photo with his medal and the trophy right after the ruling. He made it clear: nothing a boardroom says can erase what happened on the pitch. He said, “Out of respect for the club and with the crucial match in mind, I don’t want to go into too much detail. You saw my reaction on social media; it’s the same today. What I can say is that nothing has changed for me compared to what we went through in January. I’ll have time to talk about it again in due course; for now, I’m going to stay focused on Lyon.”
That final in Rabat was pure chaos, even before Senegal won 1-0 on the field. Most players followed Thiaw down the tunnel, but Sadio Mane stayed, urging his teammates to come back. Brahim Diaz took the penalty but tried a Panenka, and Edouard Mendy caught it easily. The game went to extra time, Papa Gueye scored, and Senegal thought they were champions again. It didn't matter; the walk-off cost them everything. The committee called it a 3-0 forfeit.
It’s harsh for a team that believed they’d gone back-to-back. Niakhate, who started six out of seven games, is now focusing on Lyon’s European campaign. Still, that boardroom drama isn’t going away, not with the international break coming up. Senegal’s already planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
