By Julien Pretot
VANCOUVER, April 30 (Reuters) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino said demand for tickets to the 2026 World Cup had reached unprecedented levels, with 500 million requests already recorded for the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“You’ve heard, there were many discussions about the ticketing of the World Cup,” Infantino said at the FIFA Congress on Thursday. “We had 500 million ticket requests — 500 million ticket requests. In the last two World Cups
together, we had 50 million ticket requests. Here, 500 million.”
Infantino said FIFA had already sold the vast majority of tickets released so far.
“We’ve sold 100% of the inventory that we’ve put on the market, which is, more or less, 90% of the global inventory so far,” he said. “And of course, we are always putting tickets on the market.”
Ticketing has emerged as a sensitive issue in the build-up to the tournament, with concerns raised about affordability and access for local fans.
“There are expensive tickets, yes, but there are also affordable tickets,” Infantino added.
Soccer's world governing body is expected to continue releasing batches of tickets in phases, a strategy designed to manage demand while maximising revenue for what is set to be the most lucrative World Cup in history.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
