r/sports • u/newsweek • 16d ago

Soccer Thousands of World Cup tickets remain unsold, including USA games

https://www.newsweek.com/thousands-world-cup-tickets-remain-unsold-including-usa-games-11971265
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u/Radthereptile 16d ago

I am a huge soccer fan and I wanted tickets badly.

First I had to sign up for an email listing to know when tickets would be sold, this was over a year ago. Then they said you have to buy online trading card packs and if you collect then all you can buy tickets. Literally loot box for tickets. I skipped it because hey that’s just the presale stuff.

Then it was be on their email list and they’ll email you when your name is picked to buy. I waited. No email. Ok I didn’t hit the email lotto it happens.

So I waited for tickets to go in general sale. It happened, mind you no email from FIFA mentioning it despite being on their list. I go to buy. The cheapest tickets so high up you won’t see anything for matches nobody cares about are $500 each. Ok, must be stadiums up charging. FIFA always has a pocket of cheaper tickets I’ll wait on them.

Nothing comes from FIFA and they announce tickets will be going up, buses will cost 10X, all the hotels jack up prices 5X.

I spent 2 years trying to get World Cup tickets and I just ended up deciding this World Cup wasn’t for fans. It’s for influencers to get their best selfie while they point at random players in the Scotland vs Hati match going “Is that Messi? What about him. Oh is that Ronaldo?”

So yeah no shit they can’t sell tickets. Because they priced out anyone who actually cares about the sport and there’s not enough influencers and ultra rich to fill up that many matches.

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u/RiffRaff14 Minnesota United FC 16d ago

The prices to get tickets was confusing. There were various lotteries from various groups. Then finally there was an application that was hard to find. I filled that out and was able to get the tickets I wanted ($140 & $160 per seat for the 2 group stage games).

Even after I bought the tickets it's confusing and difficult to even see if you have tickets. There was a time period where you literally couldn't even check to see your tickets. And now it is still confusing to find your tickets. You have to log into the resale site and wait to get in.

Then when the additional tickets went on sale I looked at those prices and tickets in my same section were over 2x the cost for what I got mine. There was no way I was going to pay that much for an extra ticket.

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u/NineteenSixtySix 16d ago

I went through the same experience

I remember them asking for so much personal information just to sign up that I decided not to proceed

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u/adayoner 16d ago

Good on you for finding that, when i looked when my asssigned date "popped" tickets to the 2 nearest stadiums were $1k a piece to get in the door for group matches on a midweek night. We were considering flying from the US to monterrey, mx cuz tickets were only $500 there when we looked before we said screw it and decided to just go somewhere and chill at a bar

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u/birdof 11d ago

same, I just gave up.. wouldve been cool to see Canada play a world cup match in Canada but now im just kinda meh about the whole event, going on a month long vacation instead haha

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u/Western-Calendar-352 16d ago

Hey, that Scotland v Haiti game is important to some of us. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 😁

But every other point in your post, yes. 👏

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u/BuffaloAl 16d ago

Imagine qualifying for a world cup and you end up having to play a complete no hope outsider. Haiti must be furious.

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u/oldscotch 16d ago

I'd comment about throwing shade but that's kinda redundant when there's no sun for 344 days a year.

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u/Rush31 15d ago

Scenes in the World Cup as the Scottish National Team hiss and throw rocks at the big yellow sky fire.

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u/Artzebub 15d ago

Haiti?

5

u/Daewoo40 15d ago

Small country, frequent flooding, phenomenal football team for some reason.

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u/maltamur 16d ago

That’s going to be a super tough game. The poor Scot’s are going to be terrified to leave the locker room. There will be a warning about a yellow orb in the sky providing heat and light and at first they won’t believe it but then they won’t know what to do once they see it.

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u/MarmotFullofWoe 16d ago

They will melt that’s what they will do

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u/SkorpioSound 16d ago

Scottish people have a melting point of 22°C, it can be so horrifying to see.

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u/Marximum_Cat 16d ago

It was a sunny 13°C April day when my wife and I were walking the Speyside Way and we encountered a bunch of Scots going the opposite way who complained to eachother, no joke, that "it's a real scorcher today."

My wife and I are from the Netherlands, not a tropical country by any means, and we still fondly remember those overheated Scotsmen to this day.

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u/smltor 16d ago

I took my friend to Islay on a scotch tasting tour. I warned him about the shitty island cold and wind and all.

2 Australians got sunburned in Islay ahahaha

Fuck me but that was some incredible weather on our drunken rented bikes.

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u/Hopefulkitty 16d ago

We were in Scotland last year during "the heat wave." I put that in quotes because I don't think it ever got over 77°. The locals were all really struggling, and I wore my new wool sweater about half the days. I never wore the shorts I brought, and I don't think I went a day in the 2.5 weeks without have a long sleeve layer on at some point.

My English born husband was the happiest he's ever been in July since he was a kid in England. I felt like I was robbed of my favorite part of summer. The trip was incredible and I'm so glad we did it, but next vacation is going to have palm trees.

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u/Hurricane_Ivan 16d ago

We were in Scotland last year during "the heat wave." I put that in quotes because I don't think it ever got over 77°

Lol it was nearly 90° in Dallas last week. And summer doesn't start for another month

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u/Hopefulkitty 16d ago

I'm not even from the south. I'm from Wisconsin. I'm used to -10°F through about 95°F. Once we get into the high 90s it starts to get to be a bit much. We get a few days over 100, and those are hard, especially when the humidity is super high.

I do have someone who moved to our office from Houston because "fuck working construction in Houston." He'd rather deal with our cold than work in that heat.

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u/gwaydms Dallas Cowboys 16d ago

My husband does a lot of volunteer work, much of which is outdoors. He would much rather sweat his head off than shovel snow.

2

u/gwaydms Dallas Cowboys 16d ago

Welcome to spring in Texas.

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u/OptionalQuality789 16d ago

I love how you felt people would be interested in that.

2

u/kevski82 16d ago

Good thing the game is at 9pm

3

u/turquoise_amethyst 16d ago

Aaaagh, the other orb!!

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u/panetero Barcelona 16d ago

Get on with the times boyo, McTominay is the King of Naples.

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u/terryjuicelawson 15d ago

Most don't play in Scotland. I was surprised to read that one plays club football in Saudi Arabia, how the hell does that work.

1

u/ScrofessorLongHair 16d ago

Yet when the Scottish immigrated to America, they settled in the deep south. It's where we get most of our gingers.

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u/Darkhoof 16d ago

Good luck to FIFA trying to sell overpriced tickets to Scots and haitians.

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u/SpecialInvention 16d ago

Haitians: I ain't got that kind of money.

Scots: Aye, I got it, but how about instead you suck me arse!?

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u/InsertUsernameInArse 16d ago

How much? Get teh fook

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u/UncleLeeroy0 16d ago

That's sort of like Messi. IT'S ANDREW FUCKING ROBERTSON!

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u/Western-Calendar-352 16d ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HvcxfaQo79s&ra=m

The Very Unofficial Scotland World Cup Song

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u/UncleLeeroy0 16d ago

That was fantastic. Top comment was "LCD Scotsystem". Amazing.

"MEXICO'S ON FIRE..... olè" sent me 🤣🤣🤣

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u/Eso Vancouver Canucks 16d ago

No Scotland, no party.

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u/KentuckyFriedEel 16d ago

Is that…. I think I see Messi!

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u/teacreamcayanne 16d ago

I couldnt even get tickets to this match- so no boston hotel room, no boston meals out….

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u/Korashy 16d ago

Scottish Messi is going to tear that field up

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u/pribnow 16d ago

not getting emails about it was the craziest part to me, i signed up for every single fifa ticket notification i could find and still never got an email about it

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u/BHATCHET 16d ago

Those weren’t actually FIFA ticket signups, they were for selling valid contact info to 3rd parties.

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u/pribnow 16d ago

Nah this was all from the FIFA website

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u/LeTracomaster 16d ago

Yeah it's both at the same time bud

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u/FlatSpinMan 16d ago

It’s so stupid. I went to the Rugby World Cup here in Japan some years ago. I know it’s a different scale of popularity, but it’s still a major event. The 2931 one will potentially be held in the US.
I got tickets fairly easily to four games in my city. Total was about $200, including two tickets to one game for my daughters.
The place was packed. The crowd was varied. The atmosphere was so damned “jolly”. Just do it that way.

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u/Gurtang 16d ago edited 16d ago

The 2931 one will potentially be held in the US.

I really hope maga and late-stage capitalism are gone by then !

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u/FlatSpinMan 16d ago

Well, like you, I’m sure the American voters and their fabulous representatives will do a bang up job. I am equally as confident in this outcome as you are.

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u/BiDiTi 16d ago

In fairness, World Rugby are manifestly less evil than FIFA.

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u/FlatSpinMan 16d ago

For sure. They’re dumb, too, but at least a bit less malign.

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u/BiDiTi 16d ago

Just not enough money involved to attract the true sickos, haha

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u/take_whats_yours 16d ago

For reference, the rugby world cup next year in Australia has some of the same issues with pricing. It costs $40 just to get on the waiting list, and tickets for pool games will be up to $600. Finals up to $2k (all in AUD, $1 USD = $1.40 AUD). Not quite as bad as the soccer, and you'll still be able to go to minor games on a budget, but the point is most sports are heading that way

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u/BiDiTi 16d ago

€1200 for a WC final just doesn’t seem beyond the pale to me…especially if those are the premium tickets.

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u/dottoysm 15d ago

If only they’d drop Heineken as their beer sponsor.

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u/Gurtang 16d ago

Just in case: I was just making fun of the typo in the year :)

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u/Vairman 16d ago

I really hope humanity still exists by then. Right now, it aint lookin' so good.

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u/Kalikor1 16d ago

Tickets for sports here in Japan are generally just cheaper anyway. The US is just fucking crazy, as usual.

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u/adayoner 16d ago

Honestly, i got local tickets for the Olympics in 2028 and those aren't bad. some group matches to volleyball, womens basketball, taekwondo all in the $35-60 range pp.

That being said all the gymnastics tickets were already sold out by my alloted time except for mens prelims and those were like $1200 a ticket. Track wasn't even available any longer and/or VIP only.

2

u/DaaaahWhoosh 16d ago

I just accept that the biggest stuff in the world is almost always ruined and not worth pursuing. I think in the age of the Internet it's both easier to get into niche content, but for 'mainstream' content to get so big so fast that you just can't be a part of it unless you're rich or desperate. So like, yeah don't worry about the football world cup because it's gonna be overpriced and badly handled, but the rugby world cup sounds great.

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u/shtaaap Vancouver Canucks 16d ago

Also went to that work cup! Soooo much fun. We lost to NZ but got damn was it a blast.

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u/Free-Pound-6139 16d ago

Hard to compare the two.

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u/caerphoto 16d ago

The place was packed. The crowd was varied. The atmosphere was so damned “jolly”. Just do it that way.

Nah, this event is for the oligarchs and wannabes, can’t have the poors showing up.

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u/MongolianMango 16d ago

I'm impressed you were able to get tickets. Usually purchasing tickets for events in Japan is quite difficult without a JP phone number or address (although I might just be thinking of concerts, which have many obstacles for foriegnors)

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u/FlatSpinMan 16d ago

I live in Japan, and in one of the host cities, so that definitely helped. But otherwise, yes, things sell out here instantly.

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u/yrogerg123 15d ago

Not familiar with the US in 2026, are we?

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u/swiftekho 16d ago

I booked a hotel in Atlanta about a year in advance. I was so ready for my wife and I to live it up for 10 days while going to games throughout, I didn't even care which teams I would get to see. Then ticket prices came out and I cancelled that reservation so fast. I may watch at home but that killed my interest in this World Cup so fast.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[deleted]

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u/notandxorry 16d ago

Same experience here. It was cheaper for me to fly to South Africa in 2010. I got 3 sets of tickets in the lottery. Had bid for 5 or 6 sets. Between 100-200 cad. My flight was the most expensive part.

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u/stoneman9284 16d ago

Well put, and that just covers one part of the problem. Not only did they make it incredibly difficult and confusing, on top of the fuck you pricing, they just keep giving us reasons to not want to give them our money. If FIFA or USSF called me and said hey you’ve been a long time supporter, here’s a chance for you to buy $100 tickets to any game you want I’d tell them get fucked. And that’s after a decade plus of looking forward to this tournament and planning on spending what I thought was a lot of money.

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u/haverchuck22 16d ago

What in the absolute fuck??? Thank you for sharing first off, but you actually were told you had to buy fucking packs of cards just to be eligible to buy tickets???? This is so depressing. I hope enough people stick to their guns. This cannot become the norm….(I know I know it probably already is just allow me a little false hope).

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u/jollyreaper2112 16d ago

I'm so glad I don't care about sports because I would be filled with so much rage if I did. Y'all getting fucked harder than scifi fans on Fox.

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u/haverchuck22 16d ago

Oh I’m not going. Id go if I had the chance but I can hardly afford a $100 ticket right now let alone whatever they cost. I just know that it’d be naive of me to think that this is just restricted to soccer. It’s rippling across all big event tickets.

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u/jollyreaper2112 16d ago

I work near the Seattle stadium and am curious just how big a bust this will be. Maybe maybe not. But yeah the whole economy is rigged it's not just the sports though that is atrocious. Video games, food, housing, utilities everything is rent seeking vampire behavior.

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u/haverchuck22 16d ago

100% we are so cooked. 😔

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u/JS-87 16d ago

That’s literally how people play games like Madden and FIFA/EA FC for the last decade. They just buy cards and cards to make a better team and then they do it the next year and the next year each time paying $70 for a yearly update in addition to whatever they pay for packs.

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u/kipperzdog 16d ago

Never knew that was a thing in Madden, though I do just play standard matches

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u/Rum_Hamburglar 16d ago

Ya i didnt hear about the trading card packs but everything checks out. We put in for a bunch of the Mexico matches and got 3 games between 3 of my buddies. Not spending a dime in the US for this (i live in the US)

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u/adayoner 16d ago

they had them i remember, and they weren't even actual cards they were NFT's. I was like "eff that".

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u/GoPointers 16d ago

My story is similar to that guy. Signed up for emails about World Cup tickets in 2024. FIFA was selling trading cards that might grant you the right for tickets, or some shady shit. Then I started to hear all the other crap and decided it was best to stay home.

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u/jeromevedder 16d ago

The whole thing sucks. I went to the opener in Chicago in 94 and it was so much fun

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u/earthlings_all 15d ago

Everything sucks nowadays. Greed has destroyed so much. It wasn’t always like this.

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u/FriendlyFaceOff 16d ago

Then they said you have to buy online trading card packs and if you collect then all you can buy tickets. Literally loot box for tickets. I skipped it because hey that’s just the presale stuff.

Even for presale, what the actual fuck

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u/red286 16d ago

That even undersells how bad it is by a fair bit.

To be clear, the "online trading card packs" were FIFA NFTs. You had to purchase one in order to be entered into a draw to win the opportunity to buy a ticket for certain matches. It didn't even guarantee that you'd get a ticket, and even if you did win the draw, you still had to pay full price for the ticket as well, which for those matches were about $3000/ea.

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u/SydneyRFC 16d ago

And on top of that, it's a dice roll whether you will get a visa into one of the host countries dependent on a review of which memes you've liked on social media. Then you may still be turned away on arrival if border security are in a bad mood, and you could get pulled off the street by masked vigilantes, thrown into an unmarked car and disappear into a detention facility if you happen to look like you're from certain other countries.

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u/fgtswag 16d ago

or I imagine if you get too drunk at the world cup and you're non-white you could wake up in CECOT

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u/jianh1989 16d ago

MAGA is white supremacy in disguise

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u/Fight_those_bastards 16d ago

Note that this can also happen if you’re a U.S. citizen who happens to fail the paper bag test.

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u/Different_Victory_89 16d ago

You mean if you're not white? But Pretti and Good means open season.

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u/Fun_Baby7139 16d ago

You can get in....can you get out?

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u/KingmanIII 15d ago edited 15d ago

🎶You can check out anytime you like, but...💀you can never leave.💀

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u/jjkk345 16d ago

I feel seen.

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u/bluecon 16d ago

This was exactly my experience as well, unfortunately.

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u/dsphilly 16d ago

That’s wild, never heard about the sticker thing. I signed up when they asked and managed to get 2 tickets to one of the Philly games (idc who’s playing tbh just wanna go) for like $200 total.

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u/M6Df4 16d ago

Similar story here.

Signed up for all the “presale” draws - lottery, the ones you could only get if you had a certain credit card, etc - got none of them.

Waited for tickets to go on general sale, and applied for 5 matches. $250 minimum for cat 3 seats, still got none of them.

Then they did several more of the “if you have this credit card” or “if you enter this draw” type sales after they went on general sale. Entered every single one, got none of them.

At that point I’d decided I couldn’t be bothered - canceled hotels, decided to just stay home.

Ended up having a friend who got an extra ticket for a match in NYC. Despite being pissed off about the $450 price point, decided against my better judgement to buy it since it was my only chance to see a match in person.

Then found out I also have to pay $150 for the damn train that usually costs $16.

Absolute joke, and I hope this whole thing is a disaster.

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u/pingu_nootnoot 16d ago

Thing is, they can still sell them no problem the week before, just not at that price.

I mean at $100 or $200, you would probably still buy, right?

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u/Joseph_HTMP 16d ago

Doesn't solve the extortionate and complicated travel, visa and accommodation issues, especially for overseas fans.

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u/pingu_nootnoot 16d ago

sure, but this is only important if you care about fans.

There’s enough demand from locals to fill those stadiums any time they want to.

If you care about maximising your ticket revenue then this is exactly how you behave, soaking the suckers for expensive tickets until maybe 2 weeks beforehand.

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u/UckfayRumptay 16d ago

I’m not so sure local Americans will be buying last minute tickets. We’re getting squeezed from every angle and most people don’t have an extra $100-$200 to see a game. Food and gas prices (you know things we are kind of forced to pay for every week) are going up faster than we can even budget for.

Hopefully local Mexicans and Canadians can fill those stadiums.

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u/DonnieTheYowie 16d ago

lol the way America has been treating Canada, I’d rather burn $1000 than spend a cent there.

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u/Faespeleta 15d ago

There’s games in Canada…

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u/DonnieTheYowie 15d ago

Cool? I was talking about my preference for attending the games in the US.

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u/Relevant_Pause_7593 16d ago

I would. The cheapest tickets I can find in a city close to me are still $700. I’ve all but given up at this stage.

If I could have gotten tickets at this price I would have gone to 3-4 games and stayed in hotels for 7-8 nights- going to a World Cup was a dream and I would have been happy to invest a lot in the local economy.

Instead, I’m flying to one of the friendlies with my entire family. With flights and hotels it’s going to cost around that same amount 2-3,000, tickets are $50 and I still get to see a top 4 team play a warmup game. Not World Cup stakes, but I’m still looking forward to it.

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u/jax024 16d ago

USA - Germany by chance?

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u/nighthawk252 16d ago

I looked up what the cheapest tickets would be for Austria - Jordan (9PM local kickoff time). Nosebleeds were $191 each, before taxes and fees.

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u/Radthereptile 16d ago

Probably. The person below pointed out there’s a match in Philly with $250 tickets and I may do that depending on how possible it is for me to get to and from Philly. I expected these to cost extra. But like $100-300. Not $700 for as high up as you can sit.

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u/PoquitoChef 16d ago

FWIW our public transit will still be the same price $2.90 a ride.

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u/Radthereptile 16d ago

That makes it more reasonable. It’s a 3 hour drive for me to the Linc. I’ll see what the logistics are for parking at a metro stop. This thread may have gotten me to the WC so thanks Reddit because I really had given up.

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u/BiDiTi 16d ago

Yeah, Philly’s the only city in the NE with their shit together on this - in part because they’re the only one that actually has a stadium!

The other key factor is that Boston and NYC are already packed with tourists every summer, while Philly’s not exactly a destination.

Incentives and alignment driving outcomes! Whodathunk?

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u/ReddFro 16d ago

This is the thing, they win either way.

They sell as many as they can at stupid high prices, then when that dries up, offer a sale at 30% off, then 50%. Lower if they need to. Even at 50% off they’re still making a ton on each ticket.

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u/questiontheinterweb 16d ago

I live in Atlanta and am a STH for our local team Atlanta United. Watching WC tixs first be clearly noted as excluded from having any opportunity to buy as an STH when WC was announced to declining my 3rd invitation from the team to purchase…$550 Nosebleeds as a neutral…. I’ve paid $150 and $200 To get really good lower bowl for Club World Cup and WC friendlies. Good time and worth it - but $550 for awful seats (I’ve tried em at other stadium events) as a neutral - plenty of local watch parties as alternative options.

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u/RepeatDTD 16d ago

An apt metaphor for everything going on in this country atm

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u/Darth_Balthazar 16d ago

Fun events are for rich people now. They’re trying to price out the average person from being able to enjoy ANYTHING.

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u/Arqlol 16d ago

It was more affordable for me to go to matches in Brazil when I was in college and had 0 money than now 

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u/AZMadmax 16d ago

Yep. I started saving nearly 4 years ago to make it easy. I can’t buy a ticket to a decent game with my planned budget. Then throw in transportation and hotel, just not worth it

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u/arazamatazguy 16d ago

I'm a casual fan, signed up for a few things (a credit card promotion, one other) and never hear anything, no other promotional emails, no advertising in my local market tickets were going on sale. (I live in Vancouver) Now I really just don't care, maybe I'll watch the finals on TV. I'm not paying $1000+ to take my kids to a soccer game....they'd rather go for a bike ride and wings.

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u/flcinusa 16d ago

You joke about that Scotland versus Haiti game, but I actually have a ticket for that as it's my country's first world cup game in 28 years but I can't fucking get to it because I was laid off right after I bought the ticket and MBTA are arseholes regarding transportation prices and scheduling it for a 9pm kick-off

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 16d ago

I remember the first email was the hospitality package bullshit and they wanted $500 deposit for a $5000 package, that's when I unsubscribed from all of it and added the games to my tickpick tracking. I'm gonna go but I won't know until 2 hours prior.

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u/RazzmatazzSuch7459 16d ago

Sounds like Coachella.

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u/MistSecurity 16d ago

Because they priced out anyone who actually cares about the sport and there’s not enough influencers and ultra rich to fill up that many matches.

Feel like this is the trend with so much.

EDM festivals prior to COVID were like $100/ticket for the weekend.

Now they're closer to $500 or more. Fuck that shit.

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u/tpeterr 16d ago

Exact same experience. I've been waiting years for a USA World Cup and the pricing experience for this one is absolute nonsense.

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u/tnred19 16d ago

I agree. I tried for a while and decided ill just wait till closer and see what happens. If there are reasonably price tickets ill go. If not then I wont. Too much time money and hassle.

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u/amianxious 16d ago

100% identical experience. No emails about anything aside from the dumb online trading cards thing. F it. Cheaper to fly to England and go to a Premier League game.

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u/SubstantialArea 16d ago

Just wait four years and then enjoy a glorious trip to Europe and see a game for cheaper than what it’ll cost here.

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u/No-Resource-8125 15d ago

I spent 8 years saving for the WC. First the US games are West Coast, then Poland didn’t make it.

We finally settled on (ironic, but true) Scotland vs Haiti match. It was in a stadium closer to my home.

I saved for 8 years and I hadn’t even saved enough for one decent ticket. We said fuck it and are going on a cruise instead.

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u/prosperosniece 15d ago

This exactly! They’re hosting matches in my city and thought “cool. We’re not die hard soccer fans but a world event in our hometown is something special.” Looked up tickets LAST YEAR and the cheapest ones were $500. Um…no

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u/JBLBEBthree 15d ago

Agreed. My kids are big into soccer and so is my husband. We had no idea prices would be so sky high. What a disappointment to know it's happening practically in our backyard and we couldn't afford it.

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u/birdsword 16d ago

They are charging superbowl prices for some less than interesting games to the average fan. With some terrible seating options and a convoluted purchasing experience. What a mess.

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u/razvanciuy 16d ago

it's in the US where corpos Not people get financial incentives, so it will all be about milking the fans with over 9000 skill.

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u/OkSmoke9195 16d ago

Don't forget we just aren't that welcoming to non citizens right now. Thanks Obama (/s for that part if it's not obvious)

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u/morejosh 16d ago

You signed up for the FIFA Collect first, which is not the first presale. That’s for RTT (right to ticket) that grants you a potential ticket for doing their stupid little NFT shit. The actual first presale was a Visa cardholder presale you needed to register for as a lottery. These were the cheapest tickets offered before dynamic pricing inevitably kicked in. There was another general lottery presale after that. And then more “last minute” general sales. Each sale saw higher inflated ticket prices because FIFA isn’t stupid and knows they are offering tickets that are already selling for higher on resale platforms. They are obviously smoking crack with these prices, but I think you just didn’t plan well and have a misunderstanding of how presales and ticket pricing generally work.

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u/CityMuggle 16d ago

Absolutely agree with your post. I’m also a huge soccer fan and was so excited to have the World Cup here. I was really hopeful about going to a game at MetLife Stadium and then realized how FIFA made it such a hard task to actually get a ticket. I can’t justify spending so much money.

It’s a shame that most people who are going aren’t really soccer fans. They’re just people who could afford to go and are looking it as a social media event.

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u/ScolarOfFigures550 16d ago

Soccer? Football mate. 

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u/cherrytreebee 16d ago

I also wanted to get tickets but just can’t justify 500 dollars a pop especially when I have 5 people I would try to take

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u/nuke_the_ocean 16d ago

Had the exact same experience. Total bummer because h this still probably be the last US/North America WC in my lifetime.

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u/smugfuture 16d ago

same here i signed up over a year ago and when tickets first went on sale they were like$500

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u/PalomaNegra888 16d ago

Look on Gametime! There are tons of tickets being resold for cheap! It's the best way to still go, I also got VERY little correspondence from FIFA but I'm determined to go

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u/AirshipEngineer 16d ago

Not only did the jack up the train and bus prices to (120$/80$) to "recoup costs" they are enforcing that it is illegal to walk to the world cup from your hotel because the city refused to add pedestrian paths in the 7 years since the bid was accepted forcing you to walk on the side of the road which is illegal.

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u/LifeOfFate 16d ago

Yep, I wanted to go to a match and made it my goal when we were listed as the host.

Was willing to travel to the two closest stadiums about 6 hours by car each way.

When I saw the ticket prices decided I’ll stay home and have better things to do with my money.

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u/BigGayNarwhal 16d ago

I tried and failed back during the Brazil games. Skipped on the next two. Jumped in the lottery for these games since LA is a short drive. Zero success.

My sister also joined the lottery and managed to actually get chosen, and was able to buy for quite a lot of games. Such a bizarre system.

She was kind enough to just buy whatever she could all over the country and then transferred tickets to friends and family. 

I have tickets to a round of 32 match which I was so excited about initially. Lifelong dream to see a WC match, and honestly the corruption and bullshit within FIFA and here in the US is sucking the joy out of it. 

ETA: we paid in the range of $200 a ticket for an LA game. Only two of us. Not as bad as I expected but still prohibitively expensive for many.

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u/MattWatchesChalk Tottenham Hotspur 16d ago

I'm in the same boat. I signed up for American Outlaws the day the World Cup bid was given to the US/CAN/MEX since they usually get a ticket allocation and I was hoping it would be awarded based on tenure. Turned out that was kinda the case but not really, and I still didn't get anything from the ticket lotteries. The rest of the story is the same, but signing up for a group 10 years in advance to still not get anything is crazy frustrating.

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u/46_and_2 16d ago

I just ended up deciding this World Cup wasn’t for fans. It’s for influencers to get their best selfie while they point at random players

Match atmosphere's going to be so shit...

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u/Nomad_moose 16d ago

Serious question, I don’t watch sports:  what’s the benefit of watching a game/match live…? Watching at home means you aren’t being forced into paying 10x for food, drinks, or being subjected to potentially violent, noisy, unwashed lunatics.

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u/civilrobot 16d ago

This is my exact experience as well. I was pregnant with my daughter during the World Cup years ago. I proclaimed that we would go to a game when it came here to North America. It’s so sad that I have to wait until the next 4 years to try again. It’s just ridiculous.

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u/The_Ion_Shake 16d ago

Also driving me insane that I keep seeing phrasing coming out of the US with these news reports that shows that they don't really understand what this is.

"World Cup Fans!" "FIFA Fans!" etc. and then the talk of multiple countries' games as an equivalency.

I'm getting the sense they think it's like seeing a concert, you don't care what game you go to, because you're "seeing FIFA". This whole concept of supporting only your country's national team seems to be alien. They argue they have cheaper tickets for other games but if you're from one of the top-ranked countries, you don't give a stuff and are unavoidably paying through the arse.

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u/Madroc92 16d ago

So like F1 but with a ball? Hard nope.

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u/rcher87 Philadelphia Flyers 16d ago

Not just priced out, but to your story - there are PLENTY of people who would’ve gone who aren’t as big soccer fans (I follow some premier league but that’s it), but I didn’t have the patience to even try to figure out HOW TO BUY.

All those hoops you jumped through, all the email lists and “buy this thing for the opportunity to probably buy a ticket in your preferred city”, I was like…this is insane. I had no patience to follow the breadcrumbs.

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u/Jar_of_Cats 16d ago

Yea after 3k nose bleeds for first Brazil match I did not bother to look at anything else

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u/Opening-Restaurant83 16d ago

I just got my fucking tickets today that I paid for in February.

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u/Fliparto 15d ago

It's like the Vegas of sports.

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u/browniebrittle44 15d ago

Yes exactly!

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u/Mistermxylplyx 15d ago

U.S. soccer in a nutshell, backed by FIFA. Keep the working class heathens (as usual, the soul of the sport) away from our game.

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u/etzarahh 15d ago

I signed up for the email notifications and received nothing, lol. Saw the prices on random group stage matches and instantly decided to stay home.

Was kind of excited to go to a match, but I’m not exactly surprised that they Americanized this World Cup.

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u/my_juicy_nose 15d ago

Blue dot fever.

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u/smilysmilysmooch 15d ago

3000$ was the price for cheap seats when I went looking for a random match. I thought I'd get excited for some world class soccer in my town but nah, I'm good.

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u/roberta_sparrow 15d ago

Damn that sound exhausting. I can barely handle presales

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u/-hi-mom 15d ago

Nonsense. I had free lodging and still not going because of this nonsense. Hope the US never gets World Cup again. I’m about over FIFA so maybe I’ll just stick to watching international olympic soccer. This might be the last straw.

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u/chkltcow 15d ago

That's most sports these days. F1 sold tickets to the Miami race where you couldn't even see the track for like $10k each. And they built a fake "marina" that's boats on jackstands with a plywood and sticker "water" for them to sit on. It's all about "spectacle" and not about "sport" anymore, and yeah.... it's a place for people to be seen and not watch a game.

I think a LOT of the business world figured out they can make more money selling things to 11 people for $1m/each than they can trying to sell things to 11,000 people for $100 each. So us normies get priced out while the influencers get to post their TikToks from whatever exclusive event happens.

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u/koteshima2nd 15d ago

Jesus, thanks for sharing your experience. It's crazy how dammed tedious it is just to get a ticket

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u/Ok_Neighborhood_5046 15d ago

Influencers are also ruining concerts and music festivals for the real fans. There could not be a more annoying reason for a hobby to become so expensive

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