FIFA Faces EU Probe on World Cup Price Hikes
Football Supporters Europe and Euroconsumers have lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission against FIFA, accusing the world football governing body of abusing its monopoly position to impose what they describe as excessively high ticket prices and opaque purchasing conditions for the 2026 World Cup.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, centres on allegations that FIFA has exploited its exclusive control over ticket sales for the June 11 to July 19 tournament, which will be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The complainants argue that the pricing structure and sales processes would not be tolerated in a competitive marketplace.
“FIFA holds a monopoly over ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup and has used that power to impose conditions on fans that would never be acceptable in a competitive market,” Football Supporters Europe stated in an official release.
The complaint highlights a dramatic escalation in ticket costs compared to previous tournaments. According to the FSE, the cheapest openly available tickets for the final now start at $4,185, representing more than seven times the cost of the cheapest ticket for the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. By comparison, the most affordable tickets for the UEFA Euro 2024 final were priced at just 95 euros, approximately $100.
The 2026 World Cup will mark a historic expansion of the tournament, featuring 48 teams for the first time and comprising a total of 104 matches. FIFA has made nearly seven million tickets available, with individual purchase limits set at four tickets per match and a maximum of 40 tickets per person for the entire competition.
However, FSE contends that the actual pricing has dramatically exceeded FIFA’s own projections. The organisation noted that FIFA’s bid documents had estimated an average ticket price of $1,408, a figure that has been “left far behind” by the reality of the sales process.
The complaint further alleges that the North American bid had initially promised tickets would be available from as little as $21. Instead, the cheapest tickets released to the public have been priced at $60, such as those for the Group J opener between Austria and Jordan at the Levi’s Stadium in California. Most tickets for matches involving leading football nations cost at least $200.
The situation becomes more extreme on FIFA’s official resale platform, where some tickets are being advertised at astronomical prices. One Category 3 seat for the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was being offered for $143,750, more than 41 times its original face value of $3,450.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the pricing structure as a reflection of market demand. “In the US in particular, there is this thing called dynamic pricing, meaning the prices will go up or down depending on the match in question,” Infantino has said publicly.
However, FSE argues that the fundamental problem with dynamic pricing lies in the absence of any upper limit. “FIFA used ‘variable pricing,’ or dynamic pricing, with no cap and no transparency on how prices are set,” the organisation stated. “Some tickets rose 25% between sales phases. Fans had no clear way of knowing the final price before joining the queue.”
Following sustained criticism over ticket costs, FIFA announced a cheaper category of tickets priced at $60. However, these seats were reserved exclusively for fans of qualified teams and constitute just 10% of each national federation’s ticket allotment.
“FIFA repeatedly advertised $60 group-stage tickets,” FSE noted. “In practice, they were so scarce that the entire Category 4 inventory was practically sold out before general public sales opened.”
FIFA has indicated it will retain an unspecified number of tickets to be released from April through the end of the tournament on a first-come, first-served basis.
The controversy extends to the resale market, including FIFA’s own official resale platform, which operates on a fan-to-fan model allowing resellers to set their own prices. This mechanism has enabled the extreme pricing observed for final tickets.
The resale market operates under different regulatory frameworks across the three host nations. In the United States and Canada, ticket resale is unregulated. In Mexico, reselling tickets above face value is prohibited, but only when the ticket was purchased in Mexico using the local currency.
The 2026 World Cup represents the first time the tournament will be hosted across three countries simultaneously, and the expansion to 48 teams marks the most significant structural change to the competition since its inception in 1930. The tournament has historically been held with 32 teams since the 1998 edition in France.
The complaint to the European Commission seeks regulatory intervention on behalf of European football fans, who represent a substantial portion of the global audience for the World Cup. The outcome of this legal challenge could have implications for how major sporting events manage ticket pricing and distribution in the future.
FIFA has not yet issued a formal response to the complaint filed with the European Commission.