Examining every word of self-titled ‘man of the people’ Rio Ferdinand on World Cup tickets

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·4 de diciembre de 2025

Examining every word of self-titled ‘man of the people’ Rio Ferdinand on World Cup tickets

The prize of the biggest knobhead in football is often hotly contested but this year’s entrants are proving to be particularly strong.

As we head kicking and screaming for the 2026 Donald Trump FIFA World Cup, everyone is looking to get a seat on the gravy train pulling into New York City.

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On Friday, the draw for the overly inflated tournament will take place at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington. FIFA say a star-studded line-up will perform: Andrea Bocelli (fair enough), Nicole Scherzinger (oh God), Robbie Williams (oh good God) and umm, the Village People (oh sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph). The star of the show Trump will also be in attendance, presumably asking if he’s got time for a quick 18 once this is over.

Don’t worry though, we’re in good hands when it comes to the hosts and some of the finest football brains among us will be there to guide the good ship home. Comedian Kevin Hart (whose main bit appears to be shouting things in a high-pitched voice or looking small next to The Rock), supermodel Heidi Klum who probably thinks Accrington Stanley is some kind of face cream, and actor Danny Ramirez who at least played ‘soccer’ in high school.

Draws for any tournament have long been lost to FIFA’s inflated sense of self-worth and if it’s possible to avoid the trio of hosts, the people pulling the balls out of an expensive bowl are just as confusing.

Trump’s golf buddy Wayne Gretzky joins Birmingham City co-owner Tom Brady, baseballer (???) Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal (who will presumably be picking his balls out of a very high bucket) as ‘draw assistants’. While NFL and New York Giants legend Eli Manning will be the red carpet host.

After getting those names in, FIFA presumably went ‘sh*t, this is a football tournament’ and so have pulled in some people who are at least something to do with the sport as ‘conductors’ of the draw. Samantha Johnson, who is an unusual choice considering she never played for the US national team and spent a large part of her career in Australia, is co-conductor, leaving the main duty to the big man: Rio Ferdinand.

The former Manchester United defender was delighted with the news, posting a picture of him as a kid sand saying ‘Peckham to Washington D.C.’

This is a big moment for Rio. A chance to prove he is not just a pundit but one who can present as well. Maybe this will be the launchpad for a run at the Match of the Day gig. Maybe he can be the new Gary Lineker. Maybe someone will actually listen to his podcast.

Sadly for Rio, he’s put his foot in it before a ball was even picked.

Away from the Trumpisation of the World Cup, one of the big talking points has been ticket prices as the ‘non-profit’ FIFA continue to see just how much money they can squeeze out of the game.

The sh*tshow started in the summer when fans who bought tickets for the Club World Cup were promised the chance to buy tickets for the World Cup next year. What’s that? You want to go to the final or the semi-finals? Ha, sorry. It’s Curacao vs Cape Verde for you.

FIFA’s next money-making scheme came via a lottery with winning fans able to spend a minimum of $60 for 57 of the 104 matches set to be played, all of which were in the group stage.

American fans hoping to see their country play faced a minimum spend of $560 for a ticket. Those going to the opening game at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico and wanting to have a good view would have to part with $2,735. The average monthly income for the city that houses the stadium is $1,600.

It’s not just hard cash FIFA are after either. As part of the ticketing system, fans can purchase on the FIFA Blockchain which features tokens rather than currency. These include the Right to Final tokens where fans are paying $999 in the hope their team reaches the final two. If they don’t, tough shit. A preliminary investigation by the Swiss Gambling Commission has already been ordered to determine whether this is gambling hiding behind the illusion of ticket sales.

Final tickets opened from $2,030 to $6,730 but FIFA’s willingness to allow the secondary market to flourish means those prices have skyrocketed. On some reselling sites, tickets are being listed for north of $100k.

Another dirty trick in FIFA’s books was dynamic pricing which is the practice of increasing the price based on demand. The World Cup is not the first sporting occasion to opt for this but backlash meant FIFA has backed down.

The corporate greed on show rightly has fans, of which the incumbent New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is one, angry that a home World Cup is pointless if only the uber-rich can afford to go, suggesting that a sport described as the working man’s game should not cost the annual income of a household to attend.

That point though is missed on company man Rio Ferdinand.

Ahead of the draw, the conductor was asked by BBC Sport if the cost of tickets need to be considered and Ferdinand, who was wearing what looked like a sheep’s coat along with a hat featuring the Grim Reaper, fumbled over his answer.

I think we have to be conscious of that and I think FIFA are definitely people that are conscious of that, the powers that be there.

I’m sure FIFA are conscious as they wipe away the remains of caviar from the deck of their yacht off the coast of Monaco.

But listen, I think we can look at every industry, every sector, we could have that conversation about things.

Nothing screams the Beautiful Game like it being described as a ‘sector’ does it?

When Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup in 2022, achieving the ultimate prize in a glorious career, who among us did not think “ooh, this is great for the sector of football”.

Also just some incredible whataboutism from Rio there. Don’t worry about football tickets being outrageously expensive because other things cost money as well.

And I think it’s more about making sure that there’s a product that is super elite, that matches what’s on the pitch.

What does that even mean Rio? There is only so much you can do with sitting on a plastic chair in front of a big field of grass. I think I’d also enjoy Qatar 1-0 Panama more if I hadn’t sold my liver to watch.

In fairness to Rio, I watched Blackburn 1-1 Ipswich this week and the plastic chair that was too small for my legs did match the quality of what was on the pitch.

Then everyone can feel ‘You know what? It’s justified me taking the time out, working hard to go and get my tickets.’

That’s the answer folks, just work harder. Duh.

Can’t afford $5k while you’ve got kids to feed in a world where prices are only going up? That’s your fault mate, not working hard enough. Sorry son, I know you’ve got medical bills in a country where a toothache could bankrupt you but I’ve worked hard and damn it, I’m going to Tunisia v New Zealand.

On an unrelated note, did anyone catch Rio’s riveting documentary on experiencing Qatar? Great stuff.

I am a man of the people, in terms of I’m from a place where we were always hoping for things to be accessible

Did you know that Peckham, where Ferdinand is from, is part of the borough of Southwark which has some of the highest rates of child poverty in England?

But f*** those people right? Rio, you’re the conductor on the great football gravy train mate. No need to worry about the little man anymore, its Lamborghinis and lobster for you my friend.

Sure, you could refuse the offer of being a glorified bingo caller, you could use your platform to talk about the growing greed in the game. You probably even have Gianni Infantino’s number, you could call him and say “Look Gianni, you can keep your face in the sticker album but just don’t make fans have to sell a child to be able to go to a group stage game” but where’s the fun in that? That sounds boring and those losers aren’t gonna send you to the Qatar Grand Prix are they?

Oh also, did you know Ferdinand lives in Dubai where there is no personal income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax. Just worth mentioning.

I know that the people behind the scenes at FIFA are aiming and working towards something like that.

Sorry, I switched off and was just reading over the minutes of the latest FIFA meeting on tickets:

“Shall we lower the prices given we alone have the power to do so and are a non-profit supposedly there to help the sport we didn’t even create?

“Sorry, but why is my chair being lowered into a hole in the floor full of snakes?

“Why is Infantino cackling from a chair raised an inch higher than everyone else’s?”

“Why are my wife and kids waving at me through tears?”

Now, whether they get there for that remains to be seen.

Whether they get there? They’re not at Base Camp for Everest, Rio mate. If FIFA wanted to lower ticket prices they literally could in one phone call.

Also remains to be seen? What remains to be seen? What from the last 30+ years of FIFA has given any impression they give a flying f*** what the everyday fan thinks?

Ferdinand relaxed back in his chair after that. Job done. Navigated as well as an English batsman facing Mitchell Starc in the opening over.

There’ll be no mention of ticket prices during the draw, course there won’t. Or Trump’s threat of removing host cities he doesn’t like. Or the stormtroopers of ICE plotting their moves.

It’s a good job football is so enjoyable because everything around it is depressing bollocks and only getting worse.