President Donald Trump acknowledged this week that tickets for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are too expensive for ordinary fans—a striking admission that puts him at odds with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, his close ally, who just days earlier defended the steep prices as a natural consequence of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event in America’s premium sports economy.
Tickets are just the beginning of the financial burden fans face. Attendees are also absorbing $80–$100 in transit surcharges per match and elevated fuel costs driven in part by tariff-related inflation. Football Supporters Europe calculated a fan attending every match from the group stage through the final faces a minimum outlay of $6,900—nearly five times the equivalent cost at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
