World Cup final tickets hit nearly $2.3 million on FIFA resale platform

FIFA’s resale platform has listed four tickets for the World Cup final at almost $2.3 million each, highlighting extraordinary price inflation on the secondary market ahead of the tournament’s showpiece match, The Guardian reports.

The tickets, priced at $2,299,998.85 apiece, are for the 19 July final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. They are located behind a goal in the lower tier of the stadium.

FIFA does not set resale prices on its Resale/Exchange Marketplace but charges a 15% fee from both buyers and sellers. This means FIFA would earn approximately $690,000 if a single ticket sold at $2.3 million.

Other listings for the final also show wide price disparities. One lower-deck “easy access standard” seat is priced at $207,000, while a category two seat in the uppermost third tier is listed at $138,000. Another nearby seat carries an asking price of $23,000. The cheapest final tickets listed were $10,923.85 for seats four rows from the top of the upper deck behind the goal.

FIFA has also released additional direct-sale tickets, with final seats priced at $10,990. In January, the highest resale listing for the final stood at $230,000.

In past tournaments, resale tickets were capped at face value. For the 2022 World Cup, FIFA charged lower fees, taking either 5% or 2 Qatari riyals ($0.50). However, for this tournament, FIFA opted not to cap resale prices, citing the loosely regulated North American secondary market and concerns that limits could encourage scalping on third-party platforms.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tickets for other matches also reflect high demand, including semi-final seats priced up to $11,130 and group-stage US matches reaching $4,105. Canada’s opener in Toronto was listed at up to $3,360, while some quarter-final tickets range between $1,610 and $5,730.

By Vafa Guliyeva