Posted on 9th February 2026
FIFA must change course: Unsold World Cup tickets vindicate critics
For months matchgoing England fans have warned that FIFA’s pricing strategy for this summer’s World Cup would price out the most loyal supporters’ and tournament veterans.
Now data leaked from the FA at the weekend, on ticket sales for their allocations across all potential games in the World Cup, show thousands of tickets currently unsold.
The majority of those unsold tickets sit in the most expensive ticket categories vindicating what the FSA and others have said: that FIFA’s pricing strategy for the World Cup 2026 will force many to stay away.
Former FSA Writer of the Year winner Henry Winter said: “If England reach the World Cup final, they will not sell out their official FA allocation.
“The cost of tickets in the most expensive two categories are putting off members of England Supporters Travel Club. There will be only 3,409 England fans present at MetLife Stadium on July 19 via the official FA allocation of 4,500.”
Back in October FIFA revealed its pre-sale general admission ticket prices for the World Cup across the US, Canada and Mexico and it became immediately clear this would be the most expensive tournament for matchgoing fans in the tournament’s history.
The FIFA Collect Analytics website, which has since gone offline without explanation, pulled together the prices from FIFA’s autumn pre-sale sale and it revealed the average ticket price for the final at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey is currently $3,945.
Similarly, the New York Times reported the vast majority of 2026 World Cup tickets are set to cost hundreds of dollars, and most upper-deck seats at the final will cost either $2,790 or $4,210.
Matchday atmosphere to suffer
Our Free Lions Fans’ Embassy team highlighted the danger these tickets posed to the spectacle.
With tournament veterans and traditional partisan matchgoing fans thinking twice about going, or being priced out altogether, those seats could remain empty or filled by neutrals, tourists or more casual fans with cash to burn.
The Free Lions Fans’ Embassy said: “We live in hope that we will one day see England lift the World Cup again, and yet again an allocation for a World Cup final is undersubscribed, which is becoming an unfortunate trend. There is only one reason for this, the price.
“Now FIFA are finding out that supporters will turn their backs on ludicrous prices, however prestigious the game.
“Thousands of pounds for any football match is beyond greedy.
“Many have paid up as they simply don’t want to miss out. But some of the most loyal fans, be they English supporters or those of any other nationality, are being priced out.
“FIFA needs to change direction. Atmosphere free stands shorn of fans from across the planet do not make a ‘World’ Cup.”
Last month, USA winger Timothy Weah also spoke out about FIFA’s pricing for the tournament, expressing his disappointment.
“I am just a bit disappointed by the ticket prices. It is too expensive,” Weah told French outlet Le Dauphiné. “Football should still be enjoyed by everyone.
“Lots of real fans will miss matches.”
The response from his national team manager Mauricio Pochettino, who essentially told the winger to shut up and ‘stick to sports’ while defending the governing body, shows how much of a battle fans have in fighting back against FIFA’s predatory pricing.
