World Cup Final Ticket Prices Revealed... And It's Far Worse Than You'd Expect

World Cup Final Ticket Prices Revealed... And It's Far Worse Than You'd Expect

As you may well have seen by this point, FIFA have revealed the prices for tickets at the 2026 World Cup, and yes, they are utterly ridiculous.

They're so bad, in fact, that fan groups have called it a 'monumental betrayal' and are urging FIFA to halt the ticket sales process while they protest.

I wouldn't anticipate FIFA actually listening to them and pausing their sales, though, as they've proven time and time again that they are simply interested in making money, with these ticket prices simply being the latest instalment in a long-running series of disappointments.

So much for non-profit organisation.

If you haven't already seen the prices for tickets at the competition, then first of all, how? And second of all, you might want to sit down, because this is genuinely appalling.

The cheapest ticket that is on sale for the final of the competition would set you back £3,120.

So how has it come to this? And what has the response been from fan groups?

The Prices Themselves

First of all, let's just take a moment to have a little bit more of a look at what the ticket prices are across the competition.

The most important point to note is how much it would cost to follow your nation from start to finish. Let's say, for example, you wanted to travel out to North America to watch England and, by some miracle, they make it all the way to the final.

To attend every fixture, let alone travel and accommodation, would cost you over £6,000.

As I'd mentioned before, the final itself would mean shelling out £3,120, with the next cheapest ticket coming in at £6,471 for just the final alone.

Was 90% not going to the World Cup.

They’ve now released ticket prices.

I’m now 100% not going to the World Cup.

Scandalous pricing, fans deserve better @FIFAcom

— LB (@LukeBaylissBRFC) December 11, 2025

For members of the England Supporters' Travel Club, the prices for a ticket at each stage of the competition would cost:

• Croatia (group stage) - £198 to £523

• Ghana (group stage) - £164 to £448

• Panama (group stage) - £164 to £463

• Round of 32 - £175 to £456

• Round of 16 - £220 to £575

• Quarter-final - £508 to £1,076

• Semi-final - £687 to £2,370

• Final - £3,129 to £6,489

If you're a Scottish reader, please don't think that you're exempt from this disgrace. Your group stage matches will cost: £134 vs Haiti, £164 vs Morocco and £198 vs Brazil.

Comparisons have started appearing in pricing between this World Cup and the previous one that was held in Qatar in 2022.

The cost of tickets alone to follow one nation from the start of the tournament through to the final is set to cost five times more than it would've cost you in Qatar.

FIFA World Cup ticket prices, 2022 vs 2026 pic.twitter.com/Mhywbr4ITq

— Troll Sports (@trollsports) October 7, 2025

How Has It Come To This?

Earlier this year, FIFA announced that they would be adopting a new dynamic pricing strategy, which means that prices would be adjusted based on their perceived demand.

This system has already been implemented into the sale of gig and concert tickets, which has seen an increasing number of ticket vendors and artists come under intense scrutiny for rinsing their fans. The main targets of said backlash have been Ticketmaster, the main culprits of dynamic pricing which has seen loyal fans unable to afford tickets for concerts they love, and Oasis, who were the highest profile example of a band that were complicit with such extortionate prices.

The response in the world of music has been massive, with world-famous bands like The Cure condemning the system and promising to make their tickets as affordable as possible so as not to price anybody out.

Let's hope the response from football fans is going to match the intensity of the precedent that has been set, and that we'll all stop rolling over and accepting rising prices.

Simultaneous to their dynamic pricing announcement was the reveal that the cheapest tickets at the tournament would cost around £45, which isn't an awful price for a ticket to the most viewed sporting spectacle in the world.

It's become clear, though, that tickets at that price are going to be very few, and very far between, with Henry Bushnell of The Athletic suggesting that those tickets will be reserved for the upper corner seats in NFL stadiums, where the view is awful, in matches that are deemed not to be 'attractive'.

Just to rub salt in the wounds, they aren't even available for purchase yet. When they will be, we'll be left guessing for now. How many there will be, we'll also be left guessing.

FIFA deserve to have all World Cup matches played in half empty stadiums for their ticket prices. Absolutely, utterly, disgraceful.

— Duncan Wright (@dwright75) December 11, 2025

Now hospitality tickets were always going to be pricey, as they are at the best of times in any fixture. Some are being sold at this tournament for a shocking £54,730 per person. I genuinely can't comprehend being able to splash that kind of money to watch a single game.

Dynamic pricing has already had an impact on the prices of available tickets, and as a result of the nature of the system, they will only continue to change, probably for the worst.

Some games, such as England vs Croatia and Scotland vs Brazil, have been regarded by FIFA to be desirable and attractive fixtures, so the prices for these tickets have already climbed from £306 to £523 since the draw was announced. How this is legal, I have no idea.

According to data put together and reviewed by The Athletic, prices have already increased as a result of dynamic pricing for 80 out of 104 matches, which is approximately 77% of games. Not only that, the highest recorded rise in a ticket price so far has been 71%, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that number grow in due course.

Prices only dropped in 11 matches overall, ones which FIFA decided people probably wouldn't be especially interested in going to.

Increasing ticket prices is nothing new to football, as English football fans have been fighting battles against their own clubs in recent years over being priced out.

Just last year, rival fans from Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton all joined forces to protest against the issue, while Championship side Coventry City have come under fire all season over their away tickets being priced at £45.

Coventry City have come under scrutiny for pricing of away tickets.

In games against West Brom & Swansea, the Sky Blues are charging £45 for adults and £35 for under-18s. It's left West Brom fans attempting to organise a boycott.

Should there be a cap on ticket prices?🤔 pic.twitter.com/5YtlhTrzjH

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) October 30, 2025

It's clearer than ever that the interests of clubs and the organisations that govern our game are not concerned with the interest of fans. Instead, they would rather price us out and sell the game to the highest bidder.

Letting it happen will only see football taken away from us, so what has the response been to FIFA's recent actions?

'A Monumental Betrayal' - Worldwide Condemnation

Football Supporters Europe (FSE), is a non-profit group who 'represents the interests of supporters in European football', aiming to keep football accessable and affordable for all.

Thankfully, they've been especially vocal about the dynamic pricing disaster of the World Cup, with their statement reading: "Football Supporters Europe is astonished by the extortionate ticket prices imposed by FIFA on the most dedicated supporters for next year's FIFA World Cup.

"This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is.

"We call on FIFA to immediately halt PMA ticket sales, engage in a consultation with all impacted parties, and review ticket prices and category distribution until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found."

@FIFAcom's #WorldCup ticket prices are a betrayal to the most dedicated fans. At least $6900 to support your team from the first match to the final - nearly 5 times more than in Qatar.

FSE calls for the immediate halt to ticket sales.

🔗 Statement: https://t.co/AgEdqsfrox pic.twitter.com/2Yq5z5GIDZ

— Football Supporters Europe (@FansEurope) December 11, 2025

They have referred to the pricing strategy as one that has been determined "dependent on vague criteria such as the perceived attractiveness of the fixture", suggesting that a standard price across all group matches should be established instead.

They continued: "This can't be allowed to happen. Match-goers across the world deserve protection from these rip-off prices."

The outspoken nature of the statement has already gone a long way in inspiring others to follow suit, with the Scottish Football Supporters Association backing them up, saying: "we believe that it is time for the National Football Associations around the globe to hold FIFA to account for the excessive ticket prices, the poor level of ticket allocations of available tickets to fans of qualifying countries and the unacceptable 'dynamic pricing model'."

We have been concerned about pricing for participating nations for months now and have been raising these concerns with Football Supporters Europe and our FA. The early trends were worrying and it is devastating to see those concerns turn reality with the release of England’s… pic.twitter.com/3lWz7VFJgq

— Free Lions (@WeAreFreeLions) December 11, 2025

In addition to the hiking of the prices of tickets, hotels close to the stadiums in which fixtures will be played have also allowed their prices to skyrocket around matchdays, to an absolutely baffling extent.

Hotels across the United States, Canada and Mexico have hiked prices for rooms by hundreds of dollars per night during the FIFA World Cup in 2026, with an analysis by The Athletic revealing an average increase of more than 300 per cent around opening matches in the 16 host… pic.twitter.com/LV1953LocH

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) December 10, 2025

While it's encouraging to see so many people come out in response to FIFA's extortionate pricing, it's such a shame that it has taken such a display of utter contempt for football fans to start bringing us together as one.

Hopefully the calls of FSE and other supporter groups will be heard by FIFA, and a discussion will begin about adjusting ticket prices. If this does happen, however unlikely it is, it would undoubtedly be a huge step in the right direction to prevent football fans, the people who have made the game what it is, from being priced out.

We can dream, eh?