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The World Cup is an absolutely massive money-making operation for FIFA, and we’ve been treated to plenty of reminders that’s the case leading up to this year’s tournament. Many fans will have to stomach exorbitant prices to attend a game in person, and it turns out that having a close relationship with one of the players competing doesn’t make you immune to getting squeezed.
Most fans are aware that the teams they root for are a business that leverages the entertainment they provide to make as much money as possible. That’s also the case with the leagues and organizations that oversee them, including FIFA, which is able to line its coffers with the help of the most valuable sporting event on the planet: the World Cup.
The governing body will rake in an estimated $13 billion from the 2026 World Cup. The bulk of that number will come from television deals and sponsorships, but all signs point to it earning a very tidy sum from the ticket sales that have made games prohibitively expensive for many people hoping to attend one.
There are certainly perks that come with being a family member or friend of someone who’s playing in the World Cup, but FIFA is still catching heat for the approach it’s taken when it comes to doling out tickets for people who have a connection.
FIFA is reportedly doing everything it can to profit from the family and friends of World Cup players
A total of 48 countries will be competing in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held at stadiums in Canada, Mexico, and the United States from June 11th to July 19th.
Every team that earned the right to play in it received an allotment of free tickets as well as an inside track to purchase more for spouses, children, relatives, and friends of players who will be competing on soccer’s biggest stage.
According to The Guardian, the primary window for those sales opened up in December, and national associations that facilitate those ticket requests were informed they’d be subjected to the “adaptive pricing” FIFA has embraced for the World Cup if they needed to buy more after it closed.
That has led to some sticker shock for some countries that have been treated to a sizable bill after ordering some relatively last-minute tickets, as the outlet reports “securing attendance at matches for their players’ family and their guests has risen to about $3,000” per person. Most (if not all) of those attendees will still get to go to the games for free, but it has still caused some budgeting issues for the organizations that have to absorb the cost (especially smaller countries that aren’t exactly swimming in cash).
It’s worth noting that multiple FIFA sources pushed back against that reported sum while asserting the actual number is “far lower,” although it’s hard to imagine it’s much of a bargain based on the current price of tickets on the secondary market (where FIFA also receives a 15% cut from buyers and sellers when a transaction is finalized).