Tickets for this summer\u2019s soccer World Cup are the most expensive in the tournament\u2019s history.\u00a0Or the history of any sporting event for that matter, with the possible exception of one-off extravaganzas\u00a0like the Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown in\u00a02015.\u00a0The face value\u00a0of tickets at this American tournament\u00a0are a staggering five times\u00a0higher\u00a0that of the previous\u00a0World Cup\u00a0in Qatar. The most expensive\u00a0seats for the final match\u00a0have reached\u00a0wallet-busting levels, affordable only to plutocrats and corporate boondogglers.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just face value. What about the quaintly named\u00a0secondary market? I occasionally peruse Fifa\u2019s resale site, where the custodians of the game double dip from the buyer and seller to act as an official tout. I check the Fifa marketplace not as a prospective purchaser,\u00a0but from an anthropological standpoint,\u00a0mesmerized\u00a0by\u00a0the insatiable human greed on display.\u00a0We really have left the Earth\u2019s orbit and are in Artemis 2\u00a0levels\u00a0of stratospheric pricing\u00a0here.\u00a0One ticket for the Final was listed at $250,000. It\u2019s almost enough to make one a Mamdani supporter.<\/p>\n
Many people have washed their hands of the whole idea of attending, and the ill-will it has generated is considerable. This must be the first time in history where the manager of a competing team (the frugal Steve Clarke of Scotland) has told supporters\u00a0to stay home and watch the games on TV.<\/p>\n
All of this makes me nostalgic for past World Cups (I\u2019ve attended two, in 1998 and 2002). Prices were fixed and reasonable \u2013 $30 to $50 for first round games in France \u2013 and the whole touting business was spontaneous, face-to-face,\u00a0fan-to-fan and almost fun. I achieved the Holy Grail outside the Tokyo International Forum in 2002: a ticket for the final, purchased from a lovestruck Brazilian who wanted to watch the game with his newly acquired Danish girlfriend\u00a0but only had one ticket. He decided it was better to watch it on TV with her, rather than go to the game alone. I relived him of the ticket for 100,000 yen ($600) only about $100 premium.<\/p>\n
Those days are seemingly long gone. Donald Trump and Fifa boss Gianni Infantino have formed something of a duopoly. Infantino has proved himself a master at schmoozing, even presenting Trump with a Fifa peace prize. Meanwhile, the ticketing company LiveNation\u2019s has reached a deal with the Justice Department,\u00a0which leaves them free to feast on the World Cup\u2019s bounty. The MAGA promise of trust busting the ticket touts seems to have died. The result is that the ticketing industrial complex is alive and well at this summer\u2019s tournament. <\/p>\n
Things are so bad that some fans are threatening legal action, alleging that stadium maps have been doctored and their supposed Category A tickets are actually in Category B areas. The latest wheeze is the sudden appearance of a new ticketing category \u201cFront Category A,\u201d costing up to three times the previously listed price in areas where basic Category A ticket holders assumed they might be seated. Meanwhile, Fifa has declined to reveal how many tickets are unsold or how many fans were given access to the pre-sales. The relentless\u00a0secrecy is fueling suspicion, resentment, and real anger. Expect #boycottFIFA to trend any day.<\/p>\n
It is so shameless and wanton you could almost admire it, if only Fifa were honest and stopped\u00a0wittering on about the \u201cpeople\u2019s game,\u201d the \u201cfootball family,\u201d and, God help us, their role as a global\u00a0peace-maker. Stop lying about so-called \u201caffordable tickets\u201d (largely illusory) and declare the World Cup a gross,\u00a0filthy lucre-generating exercise. Make an anthropomorphic dollar bill the mascot and replace Shakira and\u00a0Celine Dion in the opening ceremony with\u00a0the reformed ABBA (\u201cMoney, Money, Money\u201d).<\/p>\n
Putting my despair to one side, is there any hope for the beleaguered ordinary fans\u00a0seeking even halfway sane pricing? Well, maybe\u2026 all may not be\u00a0quite\u00a0what it appears. As well as the most expensive, the ticketing system for this summer\u2019s World Cup is also by far the most opaque with a bewildering series of ticket classes, sales \u2018windows\u2019, and purchasing methods. You need to be alert and nimble-witted to keep track of what\u2019s available, when, and for how much, in Fifa\u2019s labyrinthine, and ever-changing,\u00a0website. And you would be well advised to take the pronouncements of Fifa president Gianni Infantino with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n
According to Infantino, Fifa sales have been extraordinarily successful with \u201cevery game sold out\u201d and \u201cover 500 million ticketing requests.\u201d But that being the case, why did Fifa suddenly announce an additional \u201csurprise\u201d sales phase on April 1? And why are some games, including the USA\u2019s opener, struggling to sell out? <\/p>\n
The truth is almost certainly that the unprecedented demand is real, but only for a portion of the bloated tournament\u2019s 104 games. The knockout phase, which begins on\u00a0June 28 and includes the juicier of the first round ties such as those involving England, Brazil and Lionel Messi \u2013 sorry Argentina. For the other World Cup, the less glamorous games involving Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Iraq, and Cura\u00e7ao? Not so much\u2026<\/p>\n
Why are some games, including the USA\u2019s opener, struggling to sell out? <\/p>\n