President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a meeting with the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Donald Trump admitted he would not personally pay $1,000 (£736) to attend a United States match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after learning how expensive tickets have become for supporters. The tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, begins on June 11, 2026 and marks the first men’s World Cup to be staged in North America since 1994, as well as the first edition featuring an expanded 48-team format. The United States are scheduled to open their campaign against Paraguay national football team at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12, with kickoff taking place in the early hours of June 13 for viewers in the United Kingdom. Speaking to the New York Post, Trump was informed that tickets for the match were currently selling for around $1,000. “I did not know that number,” Trump said. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
Trump says working-class supporters should still be able to attend
Trump later expressed concern that ordinary supporters could be priced out of attending matches during the tournament. “If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed,” he said. “But, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success. “I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go.”
FILE – President Donald Trump holds the FIFA World Cup Winners Trophy as FIFA President Gianni Infantino looks on during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Trump has frequently highlighted his role in helping bring the World Cup to the United States during his first presidential term.
The 2026 tournament will be played across 16 venues in total, with 11 stadiums located in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.Also read: World Cup final seat listed for $11.5 million despite being one of the worst in stadium
FIFA defending prices amid mounting criticism
Ticket pricing has become one of the defining issues surrounding the 2026 World Cup since FIFA first released sales details earlier this year. Group-stage ticket pricing is now partly based on the popularity of the teams involved rather than a flat-rate structure used at previous tournaments. Supporter groups and fans have heavily criticised the prices, with some describing them as “extortionate”.
FILE – General view of the MetLife stadium during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between Fluminense and Chelsea in East Rutherford, N.J., Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)
Donald Trump’s remarks came just hours after Gianni Infantino defended ticket prices, which have caused immense controversy both in the United States and around the world. Speaking at a conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, the FIFA president said the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s location justifies the high prices. “We have to look at the market – we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world,” Infantino said. Earlier in the week, Infantino also argued that many World Cup tickets still compare favourably to major American sporting events. “We have 25 per cent of the group stage tickets which can be bought for less than $300,” he 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.” According to Infantino, more than 500 million ticket requests were submitted during the initial ballot phase for matches across the tournament.
Final ticket resale prices reach extraordinary levels
While some official ticket prices were later reduced following backlash over affordability, attention has increasingly shifted toward the resale market. The World Cup final will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19, 2026.
According to reports, the average cost of a ticket for the final is currently around $13,000, compared to roughly $1,600 for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Last month, four tickets for the final were listed online for an astonishing $2.3 million (£1.69 million). Infantino responded to those listings with a mixture of humour and criticism. He joked he would personally provide “a hot dog and a Coke” to anyone willing to pay that amount before addressing the wider resale situation more seriously. “If some people put on the resale market some tickets for the final at $2 million, number one, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2 million, and number two, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets,” he said. “In the US, it is permitted to resell tickets as well, so if you were to sell tickets at a price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. “And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double our price.”
FIFA still earns money from resale transactions
Although FIFA does not directly control the prices set by sellers on resale platforms, The Guardian reported that the governing body still receives fees from every official resale transaction. According to the report, FIFA takes a 15 per cent fee from the buyer and another 15 per cent fee from the seller for tickets sold through official resale channels. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to run from June 11 until the final on July 19, with matches taking place throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
