FIFA president Gianni Infantino said all 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be "sold out" despite tickets available for the tournament running from June 11 to July 19.
"The demand is there. Every match is sold out," Infantino told CNBC in an interview Wednesday from U.S. President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.
Infantino said there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks from more than 200 countries for about seven million available tickets.
"(We've) never see anything like that -- incredible," he said.
The 48-team World Cup is taking place across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., as the site of the World Cup final.
The head of the sport's governing body said that tournament locations contribute to what soccer supporters' associations have complained are exorbitant ticket prices.
"I think it is because it's in America, Canada and Mexico," he said. "Everybody wants to be part of something special."
Also affecting prices are resale websites, which take the official ticket that has a fixed price and use "dynamic pricing" leading to the cost to fluctuate.
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"You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up," Infantino said. "That's part of the market we are in."
A report in the Straits Times said that a Category 3 seat -- the highest section in the stadium -- for Mexico's match against South Africa in the tournament opener on June 11 in Mexico City was listed at $5,324 in the secondary market. The original price was $895.
The same seat category for the World Cup final on July 19, originally priced at $3,450, was advertised for $143,750 on Feb. 11, per the report.
In December, FIFA designated "supporter entry tier" tickets with a $60 price to be allocated to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations are expected to make those tickets available "to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams," FIFA said in a press release.
The last time the U.S. served as a World Cup host in 1994, tickets ranged from $25 to $475. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, prices ranged from $70 to $1,600 after the matches were announced.
Infantino in his comments this week estimated that the 2026 World Cup will raise $11 billion in revenue for FIFA, with "every dollar" to be reinvested in the sport in the 211 member countries.
He said the economic impact for the United States would be around $30 billion "in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on." Infantino also estimated the tournament will attract 20 million to 30 million tourists and create 185,000 full-time jobs.
--Field Level Media
