World Cup final becomes most expensive football ticket in history as hosts break promise with scandalous prices

The first open sale of tickets for the 2026 World Cup final show that FIFA are selling some some for just shy of $11,000 – around £8,333.

Reports suggest that is the most expensive ticket for general admission to a football match in history.

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Not only is that price a world record, but it is also breaking a promise that the USA, Canada and Mexico made when they submitted their offer.

When the North American trio made their World Cup bid for 2026, they promised the most a final ticket would cost would be $1,550, which is close to £1,200.

This was immediately broken when tickets went on sale for the final to country’s memberships.

The top prices for tickets at that time were at $8,680, so around £6,600.

But now that tickets are on general sale, the prices have increased yet again.

From the original vow, the most expensive ticket to the World Cup final is set to be around eight times more than what they had said.

If you compare this with the final in Qatar, the top priced ticket was just over £1,200.

The FIFA ticketing website also doesn’t confirm how many are available in each category, but it is clear that the price has increased in all areas of the stadium.

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Betrayal

With the World Cup hosts breaking their promise to not have a certain price band of tickets, the Football Supporters’ Association’s England Fans’ Embassy responded.

They released a statement criticising the prices.

In it they said: “These prices are a slap in the face to supporters who support their team outside of the flagship tournament that appears every four years.

“A game for supporters, loyalty has been thrown out of the window and supporters of the participating nations have been completely let down.”

Not the only issue

The price of tickets isn’t the only thing that England fans need to worry about.

That is because supporters heading to North America have been warned that the tournament might not be safe as was originally promised.

This warning comes from Amnesty International after Donald Trump ordered an aggressive deportation campaign.

This decision has led to mass protests on the streets.

Brits have also been warned that to enter, they might need to show five years of their social media history.

This could lead to many being denied entry to the US, and in a statement from Steve Cockburn, the head of economic and social justice, supporters have been warned.

He said: “There are huge risks around this tournament. This does not feel like the safe, free and equal World Cup and the inclusive World Cup that was promised eight years ago when it was awarded, but also may be quite different from how it felt even just 18 months ago.

“It’s a deeply troubling time in the US, which will certainly extend to fans who want to take part in World Cup celebrations.”