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Much has been made about the price of World Cup tickets over the past few months, with some tickets for select matches at the tournament being priced as high as $6,730.
The prices across the board have resulted in widespread outrage, and FIFA now face a situation where nearly 200,000 tickets for the tournament have hit the resale market. As such, there is a very real chance that some World Cup matches will be played in front of large numbers of empty seats.
While the initial backlash to ticket prices saw FIFA bring in new $60 tickets for all 104 matches, the average cost of a ticket this summer is way over the $100 mark.
Are these prices in line with other major sporting events in the USA? Or are FIFA trying to exploit desperate fans? Well, luckily, we have the ideal event to compare prices with, as the NBA Finals are currently ongoing in New York and San Antonio. Let's take a look.
World Cup ticket prices vs NBA Finals ticket prices
The NBA Finals are currently hurtling toward game four of a potential seven. The New York Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-1, with game four scheduled for Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, 10 June.
The demand for tickets is extremely high at this point, with the cheapest ticket price for game four currently standing at $4,000. Dynamic pricing has been in effect, though, as after game two, tickets for game four were being advertised for $13,065.
Whatever happens in game four, prices for game five back in Texas are expected to be through the roof. Either the Knicks are going to be one win away from being crowned champions, or the series will be back on a knife-edge at 2-2.
The obvious match to compare the NBA Finals to is the World Cup final. From a baseline point of view, the cheapest World Cup final tickets cost $60, but the most expensive are priced at $6,730. Both of these price points are cheaper than their NBA Finals equivalent, which perhaps explains why FIFA were exmpowered to make tickets as expensive as they are.
You’d need to sell a kidney to afford attending the 2026 World Cup matches
— JASSIM THANi 🇶🇦 (@JBT_86) June 8, 2026
Just compare the prices of the 2022 World Cup and the 2026 World Cup.
You’ll be paying enormous amounts of money just to attend a match in hot weather, with the possibility of games being delayed due to… pic.twitter.com/Y5Vcp8MXfC
Resale tickets comparison
In terms of resale prices, the World Cup final is operating on a completely different level from the NBA Finals. Take a potential game seven at the Frost Bank Center in Texas, for example. Resale prices on StubHub currently start at around the $3,500 mark, with the most expensive seats currently hovering around the $12,000 mark.
On the same website, the cheapest ticket for the World Cup final is listed at $8,000, while some are priced higher than $30,000. On other sites, there have been reports of World Cup final tickets being sold for more than one million dollars.
While FIFA can't do anything about what individuals are charging for resale tickets on external websites, it's hard not to feel that they have created the monster.
FGG says: Elite sport is now a sport for society's richest
How have we got here? That in itself is worth a deep dive, but the fact that we are now in a situation where football tickets are priced in the thousands by official sellers is ludicrous. This a sport created by the working class for the working class, but it has sadly been ripped away and stolen by the elite, and there is no turning back.