Infantino says World Cup will be played to sold-out crowds | OneFootball

All 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup in North America will be played “with sold-out tickets,” confirmed FIFA President Gianni Infantino in an interview this Wednesday.

“Demand is high. All matches are sold out,” said the executive to CNBC, adding that “some tickets are still being reserved for last-minute sales.”

The second phase of ticket sales for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, a tournament that begins on June 11, closed last month. There were “508 million requests in four weeks for about seven million tickets available, from over 200 countries around the world,” noted Infantino.

“We’ve never seen anything like this, it’s incredible,” celebrated the president of the world football governing body.

The “last-minute” ticket sales phase, he noted, will begin in April and extend until the final of the tournament, on July 19. Infantino also defended himself from criticism over ticket prices, which fan associations have labeled as “exorbitant” and which have reached record values on resale sites.

“It’s as if there were 104 editions of the Super Bowl in one month,” Infantino reiterated. “And, obviously, that has consequences on prices.”

“Ticket prices have already been set, but there is a system called dynamic pricing, especially in the United States, which means prices go up or down depending on demand and the match,” he explained.

“They can also resell their tickets on official platforms, in the secondary market, and prices will go up again. That’s part of the market,” he stated.

The 2026 World Cup in North America, the largest in history, with 48 teams competing in three countries, is expected to generate estimated revenue of US$11 billion (R$57.6 billion at the current exchange rate) for FIFA, “maybe a little more,” said the president of the organization.

But “every dollar is reinvested in football in the 211 member countries,” he assured.

He also estimated that the World Cup’s impact on the US economy will be about “US$30 billion (R$157.2 million) in terms of tourism, restaurants, security, investments, etc.”

According to Infantino, in addition to the seven million spectators in the stadiums, the World Cup will also attract between 20 and 30 million tourists and create “185,000 full-time jobs.”

“This will have a huge effect… And I hope that this effect is not limited to the World Cup, but continues into the future,” he said.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.