📂 Categoría: Football,World Cup,FIFA Club World Cup | 📅 Fecha: 1778499918
🔍 En este artículo:
I wanted to experience Gianni Infantino’s great American experiment myself.
So I logged on to the official FIFA 2026 World Cup page on Monday morning, clicked the ‘Tickets’ tab and followed the process.
This isn’t what World Cup is supposed to be
What followed was an insult to every United States soccer fan and international football supporter on planet Earth.
Having struck out on the World Cup initial sales — despite setting up an account, going through too many loops and patiently waiting for access — I decided to give USA vs Paraguay one more online try, one month before the biggest and most expensive sports tournament since humans first walked upright.
In less than a minute, I was staring at an arrow that would allow me to purchase one ticket for Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT club vs Paraguay on June 12 inside an NFL stadium outside of Los Angeles that normally hosts the Rams and Chargers.
Success!
Then came Infantino’s financial new world order, with 104 matches bouncing between Mexico, Canada and the USA.
The ‘get-in price’ was listed as ‘starting at $3,300.’
But when I clicked on the arrow, the first ticket made available was ‘Pitchside Lounge’ for $6,050.
‘Luxury and excitement converge with unrivaled sideline seat views, gourmet live-action cooking stations, and premium beverage service – all available before and after the match,’ read the proposal for a single seat, which costs about four times the average monthly rent in the USA.
What happened to ‘football for the masses?’
“Football isn’t for the masses anymore,” read one World Cup-ticket related social media post.
“Fans of all teams and levels need to start boycotting football games,” another said. “It’s absolutely disgusting how fans are fleeced out of the sport we helped build.”
“That’s beyond a joke,” a third tweet read. “It’s a money grab and it’s an absolute disgrace.”
Call it what you want, but when US President Donald Trump is blasting World Cup ticket prices, the tournament has a serious perception problem as the countdown clock ticks toward a Mexico vs South Africa opener on June 11.
“I did not know that number,” Trump told The New York Post, when asked about the prohibitive cost of World Cup tickets.
“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
Last week, FIFA tripled the price of the best available tickets to the World Cup final on July 19 at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
What used to cost $10,990 was increased to $32,970.
Paying $16,000 to be outside the stadium
When I clicked through on Monday to Match 104 between two opponents to be determined, the cheapest ticket appeared to be $16,475 — but it wasn’t even located inside the 78,756-seat stadium.
That FIFA Pavilion ticket is an ‘exclusive retreat located in our secure perimeter immediately outside the stadium.’
Paying more than $16,000 to watch the World Cup final outside the stadium?
One month before the first match, Infantino has become the living embodiment of the American dream.
Worst seat in the stadium for USA is $1,000
The cheapest resale ticket for USA vs Paraguay on Ticketmaster was $1,000 on Monday morning.
Of course, it was Row 22 in Section 535, which is literally one of the worst seats inside a 69,650-seat stadium and along the top row of a $5.5 billion venue.
Countdown to the World Cup
It’s admittedly easy to turn Infantino into a punching bag for a World Cup that could bring in $9 billion in revenue this year and $13bn over the 2023-26 cycle.
Every one has at least two sides, and Infantino has spent 10 years as FIFA’s president.
“I have never lost sight of our main objective: to help grow the game globally and improve conditions for players in each of the 211 countries and territories affiliated with FIFA,” Infantino said in the foreword of a book documenting his first decade.
When the FIFA President proudly states that this expanded World Cup will be like ‘104 Super Bowls in one month,’ it’s easy to envision packed bars and pubs, overflowing street parties and barbecues, and the beautiful game taking over our lives from mid-June through mid-July — no matter how far Pochettino leads USMNT or Thomas Tuchel guides England.
“It will be a fantastic event,” Infantino exclusively told talkSPORT before Super Bowl LX. “The world will stand still and observe the biggest global event that humanity has ever seen.”
Then Infantino says the following, and it’s impossible to see him as anything other than a FIFA-first money machine.
‘Hot dog and Coke’ for $2 million ticket
“If somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience,” said Infantino, sounding the exact opposite of sympathetic with the working class.
“We have 25 percent of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300,” Infantino also said. “You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300. And this is the World Cup.”
That last part is so untrue it’s 100 percent absurd.
You can get into hundreds of college football and basketball games for less than $100 — and almost get into a Division III game for free.
Before the first match of the 2026 World Cup has been played, Infantino has alienated millions of supremely passionate fans and supporters who simply want to experience the glory of the once-every-four-years tournament in person.
The beauty of the sport and the global competition for a single shining trophy should eventually take over this super-sized World Cup.
Until then, the 2026 World Cup will be shadowed by Infantino’s greed.
Especially on the official FIFA ticket site.
“So expensive that I had a bucket list to go to a World Cup game but I’m not spending $1,200 for a Group Stage match between two s*** teams that just barely made the cut,” one fan tweeted.
I wanted to experience Gianni Infantino’s great American experiment myself.
So I logged on to the official FIFA 2026 World Cup page on Monday morning, clicked the ‘Tickets’ tab and followed the process.
This isn’t what World Cup is supposed to be
What followed was an insult to every United States soccer fan and international football supporter on planet Earth.
Having struck out on the World Cup initial sales — despite setting up an account, going through too many loops and patiently waiting for access — I decided to give USA vs Paraguay one more online try, one month before the biggest and most expensive sports tournament since humans first walked upright.
In less than a minute, I was staring at an arrow that would allow me to purchase one ticket for Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT club vs Paraguay on June 12 inside an NFL stadium outside of Los Angeles that normally hosts the Rams and Chargers.
Success!
Then came Infantino’s financial new world order, with 104 matches bouncing between Mexico, Canada and the USA.
The ‘get-in price’ was listed as ‘starting at $3,300.’
But when I clicked on the arrow, the first ticket made available was ‘Pitchside Lounge’ for $6,050.
‘Luxury and excitement converge with unrivaled sideline seat views, gourmet live-action cooking stations, and premium beverage service – all available before and after the match,’ read the proposal for a single seat, which costs about four times the average monthly rent in the USA.
What happened to ‘football for the masses?’
“Football isn’t for the masses anymore,” read one World Cup-ticket related social media post.
“Fans of all teams and levels need to start boycotting football games,” another said. “It’s absolutely disgusting how fans are fleeced out of the sport we helped build.”
“That’s beyond a joke,” a third tweet read. “It’s a money grab and it’s an absolute disgrace.”
Call it what you want, but when US President Donald Trump is blasting World Cup ticket prices, the tournament has a serious perception problem as the countdown clock ticks toward a Mexico vs South Africa opener on June 11.
“I did not know that number,” Trump told The New York Post, when asked about the prohibitive cost of World Cup tickets.
“I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
Last week, FIFA tripled the price of the best available tickets to the World Cup final on July 19 at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
What used to cost $10,990 was increased to $32,970.
Paying $16,000 to be outside the stadium
When I clicked through on Monday to Match 104 between two opponents to be determined, the cheapest ticket appeared to be $16,475 — but it wasn’t even located inside the 78,756-seat stadium.
That FIFA Pavilion ticket is an ‘exclusive retreat located in our secure perimeter immediately outside the stadium.’
Paying more than $16,000 to watch the World Cup final outside the stadium?
One month before the first match, Infantino has become the living embodiment of the American dream.
Worst seat in the stadium for USA is $1,000
The cheapest resale ticket for USA vs Paraguay on Ticketmaster was $1,000 on Monday morning.
Of course, it was Row 22 in Section 535, which is literally one of the worst seats inside a 69,650-seat stadium and along the top row of a $5.5 billion venue.
Countdown to the World Cup
It’s admittedly easy to turn Infantino into a punching bag for a World Cup that could bring in $9 billion in revenue this year and $13bn over the 2023-26 cycle.
Every one has at least two sides, and Infantino has spent 10 years as FIFA’s president.
“I have never lost sight of our main objective: to help grow the game globally and improve conditions for players in each of the 211 countries and territories affiliated with FIFA,” Infantino said in the foreword of a book documenting his first decade.
When the FIFA President proudly states that this expanded World Cup will be like ‘104 Super Bowls in one month,’ it’s easy to envision packed bars and pubs, overflowing street parties and barbecues, and the beautiful game taking over our lives from mid-June through mid-July — no matter how far Pochettino leads USMNT or Thomas Tuchel guides England.
“It will be a fantastic event,” Infantino exclusively told talkSPORT before Super Bowl LX. “The world will stand still and observe the biggest global event that humanity has ever seen.”
Then Infantino says the following, and it’s impossible to see him as anything other than a FIFA-first money machine.
‘Hot dog and Coke’ for $2 million ticket
“If somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million, I will personally bring a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience,” said Infantino, sounding the exact opposite of sympathetic with the working class.
“We have 25 percent of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300,” Infantino also said. “You cannot go to watch in the U.S. a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300. And this is the World Cup.”
That last part is so untrue it’s 100 percent absurd.
You can get into hundreds of college football and basketball games for less than $100 — and almost get into a Division III game for free.
Before the first match of the 2026 World Cup has been played, Infantino has alienated millions of supremely passionate fans and supporters who simply want to experience the glory of the once-every-four-years tournament in person.
The beauty of the sport and the global competition for a single shining trophy should eventually take over this super-sized World Cup.
Until then, the 2026 World Cup will be shadowed by Infantino’s greed.
Especially on the official FIFA ticket site.
“So expensive that I had a bucket list to go to a World Cup game but I’m not spending $1,200 for a Group Stage match between two s*** teams that just barely made the cut,” one fan tweeted.
💡 Puntos Clave
- Este artículo cubre aspectos importantes sobre Football,World Cup,FIFA Club World Cup
- Información verificada y traducida de fuente confiable
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📚 Información de la Fuente
| 📰 Publicación: | talksport.com |
| ✍️ Autor: | Brian T. Smith |
| 📅 Fecha Original: | 2026-05-11 11:41:00 |
| 🔗 Enlace: | Ver artículo original |
Nota de transparencia: Este artículo ha sido traducido y adaptado del inglés al español para facilitar su comprensión. El contenido se mantiene fiel a la fuente original, disponible en el enlace proporcionado arriba.
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