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World Cup Ticket Prices Soar as Demand Rises

Tickets for the upcoming World Cup in North America are not cheap, ranging from almost $900 for the opening game to over $8,000 for the final match.

AFP Sport evaluates the cost of attending games at the tournament:

How many tickets, how much demand?

Fifa has made nearly seven million tickets available in total. Each person can purchase up to four tickets per match and a total of 40 for the entire competition.

Approximately two million tickets were sold during an initial lottery in October. A second sales phase in December and January also used a lottery system and received a record 508 million requests, according to Fifa.

While the exact number of tickets allocated has not been disclosed, the most sought-after matches include the Group K finale between Colombia and Portugal in Miami on June 27, co-hosts Mexico against South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, and the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.

Prices skyrocket...

With a total of 104 matches in this expanded World Cup featuring 48 teams, ticket prices have surged for the most popular games. Despite initial promises of tickets starting at $21, the cheapest tickets available have been $60, for example, for the Group J opener between Austria and Jordan at Levi's Stadium in California.

Most tickets cost at least $200 for matches involving top nations, while the cheapest tickets for the final are priced at $2,000, and the best seats at $8,680. This is before considering Fifa's official resale site, where a category three seat for the final at the MetLife Stadium on July 19 was listed at an astonishing $143,750, more than 41 times its original value of $3,450.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino attributes the high ticket prices to overwhelming demand, citing dynamic pricing in the US as a contributing factor.

In response to criticism, Fifa introduced a cheaper category of tickets priced at $60, but these were reserved for fans of qualified teams and only made up 10% of each national federation's allocation.

Fifa also offered ticket packages that include access to VIP lounges. For the France vs. Senegal match in New Jersey on June 16, these packages ranged from $2,900 to $4,500.

...And keep rising

Fifa will release an unspecified number of tickets from April until the end of the tournament on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additionally, resale platforms, including Fifa's official site, allow resellers to set prices independently, leading to exorbitant prices such as those seen for final tickets.

While ticket resale is unregulated in the US and Canada, Mexico prohibits reselling tickets above face value if purchased in Mexico using the local currency.

For instance, a "category three" seat for the tournament's opening game between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium was listed at $5,324, compared to the original price of $895. Other platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub offer tickets at slightly lower prices.

Extra costs

In addition to ticket prices, traveling fans must consider parking costs at many World Cup stadiums, which are often located far from the downtown areas of host cities. Parking for a group game in Atlanta costs $100, while it's $300 in Los Angeles.

For fans without match tickets, attending one of the Fan Festivals in and around the 16 host cities is an alternative. The Fan Fest in Kansas City can accommodate up to 25,000 people. In New York, the US Open tennis venue at Flushing Meadows will be transformed into a fan zone for up to 10,000 paying visitors, albeit only from June 17 to 28.