FIFA Criticized, the Price of Tickets for the 2026 World Cup Final Reached IDR 195 Million

Jakarta - The 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, has not reached the final round, but controversies have already exploded. The spotlight comes from the ticket prices, which are considered too expensive and have the potential to keep ordinary supporters away from the world's biggest football tournament.

A number of international media, from ITV News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian to Euronews, reported a wave of criticism against FIFA after the ticket prices for the matches, especially the final match, soared to a level that has never been seen in the history of the World Cup.

ITV News reported that the price of premium category tickets for the 2026 World Cup final could exceed £8,000 or around Rp191 million. The British media quoted a group of supporters who called the price "ridiculous".

Similar criticism was made by Al Jazeera. The Qatar-based media wrote that the final ticket was close to 11,000 US dollars or around Rp195 million. This figure far exceeds the final price of the 2022 Qatar World Cup which is in the range of 1,600 US dollars for the highest category available to the public.

According to the report, a number of members of the United States Congress even urged FIFA to review the pricing policy because it was considered to make the World Cup only accessible to the rich and large corporations.

The Guardian also highlighted the anger of the European supporters group Football Supporters Europe (FSE). The organization called the 2026 World Cup ticket prices "extortionate" or suffocating. They even accused FIFA of committing a "monumental betrayal" of the football tradition that has long been known as a people's sport.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the policy. According to him, the sports market in the United States does have different price standards compared to Europe and the Middle East. If compared to the previous World Cup, the increase is indeed very striking.

At the 2018 Russia World Cup, tickets for the highest category final sold for around 1,100 US dollars. In Qatar 2022, the highest category price rose to around 1,600 US dollars. Now for the 2026 World Cup, a number of premium packages sold by FIFA and its official partners reach 8,000 to 11,000 US dollars.

This means that in eight years the price of World Cup final tickets has jumped more than sixfold. But interestingly, the price has actually begun to surpass a number of the United States' biggest sporting events.

Comparison of Other Sports

For the Super Bowl, the NFL's crowning glory, which has long been known as the most expensive sporting event in America, secondary market ticket prices are typically in the $4,000 to $10,000 range. In some particular editions, there are those who exceed $12,000, but the average transaction is below the figure that now appears for the 2026 World Cup final.

Meanwhile, NBA Finals tickets generally range from 1,000 to 5,000 US dollars depending on the city and the competing team. Even in the most premium game, the average price is still below the 2026 World Cup final ticket.

The same thing happened at the MLB World Series. Tickets to the championship game of American baseball are usually in the range of 800 to 3,500 US dollars for most public seats, with premium seats reaching several thousand dollars higher.

In other words, based on the prices reported by ITV News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and Euronews, the 2026 World Cup final is now at a level that is equivalent to, and potentially more expensive than, the Super Bowl, and far exceeds the prices of the NBA Finals and the MLB World Series.

Fan anger is growing because FIFA is also implementing a dynamic pricing system, which is a price that can change according to market demand. This system is commonly used in the entertainment industry in the United States, but has never been widely implemented at the World Cup.

Euronews reported that the FSE assessed that the policy had the potential to create a tournament that could only be enjoyed by the elite. Meanwhile, Goal.com reported that FIFA finally responded to the pressure by offering a number of tickets priced at around 45 to 60 pounds for certain matches. However, the number of cheap tickets is very limited compared to the total demand.

For many football fans, the main problem is not just the high price. They consider the World Cup for decades to be a global people's party that brings together various layers of society. When ticket prices start to equal or even exceed premium events such as the Super Bowl, there is concern that this identity is slowly disappearing.