World Cup usury in the world of Trump and Infantino

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World Cup of shock prices

Absurd ticket prices, even into the millions, in which FIFA also makes a profit. Exploding costs for the journey to the final stadium, with a multiple mark-up. And even fan festivals have to be paid for. "The World Cup of shock prices," was the verdict of the Wall Street Journal ahead of the tournament, which begins on June 11. However, resale prices for many games fell significantly again in the weeks leading up to the start of the tournament after demand fell short of expectations.

"It is clear that attending this World Cup is neither financially nor morally within the framework that we know from World Cups," explained the fan association "Fairness United" when asked by the German press agency dpa. "And also that 'normal earners' are simply not the target group of the 'event'."

On its homepage, "Fairness United" writes: "FIFA has done everything it can to turn the World Cup into a glossy product that sells extremely well in the media." And during the games, everything is so expensive that you can be pretty sure "that no boorish, bawling or even drunk football fans will walk through the picture".

Together with the secretariat of the World Trade Organization, FIFA also published a study forecasting the considerable socio-economic benefits of the World Cup. According to the study, the tournament could contribute up to 40.9 billion US dollars to the gross domestic product and 8.28 billion US dollars in social benefits. For the USA alone, a gross production value of 30.5 billion US dollars and a gross domestic product of 17.2 billion US dollars were assumed. This is also likely to have impressed Trump, although his aggressive US policy may put some fans off visiting.

Expectations vs. reality

"The tourism forecasts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are promising. This influx of visitors is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic activity, benefiting the hospitality, transportation and retail sectors," the report continued. Hotels in the host cities are preparing for record occupancy rates.

It is well known that prices sometimes rise enormously during such peak periods. However, the President and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York, Vijay Dandapani, told the US business magazine "Forbes" two months before the start of the World Cup: In contrast to the massive hype that had accompanied the announcement of the World Cup, "demand was certainly nowhere near that level". Hotel bookings in New York for June and July were virtually identical to the same period last year. There were also reports of extensive hotel cancellations by FIFA itself.

Final tickets for more than two million dollars

104 World Cup matches is a lot. It will be interesting to see if and how many seats remain empty in the 16 World Cup stadiums. In any case, FIFA's new pricing policy means that it is not an event for everyone. Recently, four tickets for the World Cup final were offered on FIFA's resale site - nothing unusual in itself. But the price was: 2,299,998.85 dollars. Per ticket. The offer was for seats behind one of the gates in the lower tier.

Nevertheless, those who can afford it will not grumble about the almost twelve-fold rail fare for the trip to East Rutherford in New Jersey. The trip to the final stadium near New York and back costs a hefty 150 dollars instead of the usual 12.90 dollars.

"I'm not going to burden New Jersey commuters with this bill for years," said Governor Mikie Sherrill. "FIFA should pay for the rides. But if it doesn't, I'm not going to let New Jersey get screwed." FIFA does not feel responsible when it comes to transportation. The world governing body also has no influence on the prices on the ticket portal, but it does take a cut: a purchase fee of 15 percent from the buyer of each ticket and a resale fee of 15 percent from the seller.

Otherwise, the world football association comments on the new model with rising prices depending on demand. "FIFA's variable pricing approach to ticket allocation is in line with industry trends in various sports."