World Cup resale tickets cheaper than those available direct from FIFA

President Donald Trump blasted the high price of World Cup tickets, claiming that even he wouldn’t shell out for them. Here, he is pictured alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino (Getty)

World Cup ticket prices could see a significant reduction in the lead-up to the tournament, as resale tickets are currently cheaper than those offered directly by FIFA. The pricing is similar across numerous fixtures, including the United States’ opening match against Paraguay.

Following the opening of a new sales window by FIFA on Thursday, a Category 1 ticket for the co-hosts’ inaugural game in Los Angeles was listed at 2,735 US dollars (£2,013) on Friday morning. In stark contrast, Category 1 tickets on FIFA’s official resale platform were available from 1,300 USD (£957) – less than half the price of a first-hand purchase.

When questioned by the New York Post about the four-figure sums for the opening match, Donald Trump remarked: "I wouldn’t pay that either."

FIFA has implemented a controversial dynamic pricing strategy for its primary ticket sales. Should resale prices continue to undercut direct sales, it could exert downward pressure on the cost of those primary tickets.

As of Friday morning, tickets for ten matches were unavailable on the primary ticketing site. These include the final, the group stage clash between Portugal and Colombia, a potential last-32 fixture involving Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Miami, and a possible last-16 encounter between England and Mexico in Mexico City.

FIFA did not confirm on Friday morning whether that meant all tickets for those matches were now sold out or whether more might still be made available.

Iran’s FA president is reported to have said his team will “boycott America, but not the World Cup” (Mike Egerton/PA) (PA Archive)

The cheapest Category 4 resale ticket available for the final on Friday morning was listed at 9,373 USD (£6,892), with the most expensive Category 1 tickets priced at 345,000 USD – over £250,000.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino told his organisation’s Congress last week there had been 500 million ticket requests.

“We sold 100 per cent of the inventory that we put on the market, which is more or less 90 per cent of the global inventory so far,” he added.

“And, of course, we are always putting tickets on the market. There are expensive tickets, yes, but there are also affordable tickets.”

He went further in defending the prices at a conference in Beverly Hills earlier this week, claiming they compared favourably even with tickets to attend US college sports events.

Despite President Trump’s comments on pricing, the head of his World Cup task force, Andrew Giuliani, told the Financial Times: “We don’t really believe in price controls.”

He added that sales were on a “pretty good pathway” with over five million tickets sold.