The FIFA World Cup 2026 has become controversial even before its kick-off, with expensive tickets, visa issues and growing anger among football fans dominating the debate.
Compared with the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, this year’s event is being described as the most expensive tournament in history. The main reason is that even the cheapest tickets have become so costly that buying them has become impossible for ordinary fans.
For the first time, football’s biggest event is being hosted by three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico. Teams participating in the tournament have already landed in the host countries, while fans are eager to watch their favourite sides in action.
However, the global event has already been surrounded by controversy before the kick-off stage, with high ticket prices emerging as the biggest issue.
Fans are being priced out of the 2026 World Cup 🎟️
We asked U.S. World Cup chief Andrew Giuliani about it.
His response: it’s “sad”, but maybe the answer is an EVEN BIGGER World Cup? ⚽👀
(@jonathancrane5 🎙️) pic.twitter.com/aHBOknJMUG
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) June 8, 2026
FIFA had arranged a draw to give football fans an opportunity to watch World Cup matches live in stadiums. More than 4.5 million people took part in the draw, but fans were left stunned when ticket price details were revealed.
FIFA sells match tickets in four different categories. In the past, ticket prices for each category usually remained fixed from beginning to end. This year, however, FIFA has changed the traditional system for the first time and adopted the controversial “dynamic pricing” model associated with American corporate culture and the open market.
Under this model, ticket prices change as demand increases. This means prices are not fixed according to category. As soon as demand for a match rises or traffic on the website increases, FIFA’s system automatically raises the ticket price.
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In simple terms, different fans may have to pay different prices for similar seats in the same stadium.
A comparison between ticket prices for the World Cup in the United States and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar shows a major difference. Most of the debate is focused on Category 4 tickets, which are considered the cheapest option for ordinary fans.
Qatar World Cup vs USA World Cup ticket prices pic.twitter.com/GZtJNmmfhn
— World Cup 2026 Daily (@TotalFootball) June 9, 2026
President Trump has also expressed surprise over the high ticket prices, saying he would never buy a $1,000 ticket to watch the United States’ opening match.
At the Qatar World Cup, the cheapest ticket was $11 and the most expensive was $1,600. For the World Cup in the United States, the cheapest ticket is being sold for $100, while the most expensive ticket is priced at $6,370. Due to dynamic pricing, these prices could rise further.
This is why fans around the world are calling FIFA a “board of the rich” and asking whether football’s biggest event has now become only for wealthy people.
Football Supporters Europe, the largest organisation of football fans in Europe, has called the ticket prices for this World Cup “exploitation” and has filed a formal complaint against FIFA with the European Commission.
The organisation says that when the United States, Canada and Mexico were awarded hosting rights in 2018, FIFA documents promised that starting ticket prices for ordinary fans would be around $21. However, even group-stage tickets are now being sold for $180 to $700, which the organisation says is complete injustice to ordinary fans.
The complaint also states that FIFA promoted tickets priced at $60, but those tickets were available in such limited numbers that they were sold out before sales opened to the general public.
FIFA has reserved the cheapest stadium tickets, known as Category 4 tickets, only for fans from the host countries. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of higher-category tickets were sold on the open market, where they could be purchased by anyone from around the world. However, due to extremely high prices, ordinary fans from other countries were unable to buy them.
🇺🇸 Kicker $hock
▫Trump rips $1,000 World Cup ticket prices, tells The Post: ‘I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest’
▫@jamesfraney
▫https://t.co/ugIhqAXdSW#frontpagestoday @nypost #USA pic.twitter.com/E17Cq7qeq8
— 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 📰 (@ukpapers) May 8, 2026
On the other hand, fans who managed to get tickets are facing U.S. visa restrictions, strict immigration laws and travel hurdles.
As a result, fans from several countries are unable to travel to the United States to support their teams despite having purchased tickets.
According to a BBC report, President Trump has suspended visa processing for citizens of 15 countries during the World Cup. These countries include Brazil. The report also said that citizens of 11 countries have faced visa rejection rates of more than 40 percent, including Iran, Ghana, Egypt and Algeria, among others.
