World Cup final tickets near $2.3m mark on FIFA’s resale platform

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing its staff and Reuters, reported that last-minute tickets for the 2026 World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium had reached extraordinary resale levels less than a day before kickoff. With Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, set to play Spain and Lamine Yamal, FIFA’s main sales platform showed no remaining last-minute inventory on Saturday, while FIFA’s resale platform listed seats from just under $10,000 up to about $2.3m.

The report said prices had already been elevated earlier in the week: on Friday, only a small number of tickets appeared on FIFA’s sales platform at roughly $32,000 each, and on Wednesday hundreds of final tickets were listed at a little over $7,000. Ticketing expert Scott Friedman told the outlet that FIFA appeared to have judged demand effectively across the 104-match tournament, despite earlier doubts about high prices and travel-related concerns in the United States.

Reuters’ review of FIFA attendance data found that more than half of the 72 group-stage matches were full, while FIFA said 99.7 percent of available preliminary-stage seats were occupied. The tournament was the first World Cup to use FIFA’s dynamic pricing system, under which prices can shift with demand. Columbia University professor Adam Elmachtoub said the lack of transparency around how that system works had contributed to frustration.

The article also noted wider concerns about affordability and access. FIFA introduced some lower-cost tickets after criticism, including pressure from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Supporters’ and rights groups said the event remained inaccessible for many fans because of ticket costs and visa barriers, while US resale rules allowed secondary-market sellers broad freedom to set prices.