Price of best available World Cup final tickets tripled by FIFA to more than £24,000

The cost of the best available tickets for the World Cup final has been tripled by FIFA, less than five weeks before the tournament starts.

World football's governing body put the seats for the match at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium in July on sale for $32,970 (£24,176) on Thursday.

The tickets, listed as front category one on FIFA's ticket sales site, previously cost $10,990 (£8,000) - a price that now only applies to seats in the wheelchair and easy access sections of the venue in East Rutherford.

England face Panama in their final group game on 27 June at the stadium, which is home to both the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets.

Tickets for the first semi-final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were on offer for between $11,130 (£8,164) and $2,705 (£1,984).

Fans wanting to see the other last-four clash at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium the following day will now have to stump up between $10,635 (£7,801) and $2,725 (£1,999).

The highest-priced seats for the USA's group games were $2,970 (£2,179) for the third and final match against Turkey, while the lowest top price was $2,715 (£1,991) for the second game against Australia.

The joint-hosts open their campaign against Paraguay on 12 June at the futuristic SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended its pricing, saying on Tuesday it was operating "in a market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world, so we have to apply market rates".

He told the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, that in the US "it is permitted to resell tickets, as well, so if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.

"And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price."

Pointing to other US sports, he said tickets for college gridiron football games cost $300 (£220).

Asked about sky-high prices on FIFA's Resale/Exchange Marketplace site, if anyone paid $2m for a ticket to the final, he would give them a hot dog and a Coke "to make sure that he has a great experience".

Last month, someone listed tickets for the final on the site at $2,299,998.85.

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Tournament ticket prices have been criticised by US politicians, including Frank Pallone and Nellie Pou, both members of the House of Representatives from New Jersey.

They wrote to Mr Infantino on Thursday, saying tickets "are reportedly being held back for matches, creating the appearance of limited availability even when large numbers remain unsold. This pressures fans to purchase quickly while allowing FIFA to control pricing through staggered releases".

Sky News approached FIFA for comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Price of best available World Cup final tickets tripled by FIFA to more than £24,000