Summary of Key Points
This news report exposes three major controversies surrounding the ticketing for the 2026 World Cup: First, there is a discrepancy between the officially claimed attendance rate of 99.6% and the actual number of empty seats, which stems from the statistical method that only counts tickets sold, not the number of people who actually attended the matches. Second, FIFA’s dynamic pricing mechanism essentially serves to exploit fans on both the primary and secondary markets (by driving up prices in the primary market and taking a cut in the secondary market). Third, the funds supposedly intended to “benefit global football” may actually be used to maintain its power structure (by distributing money to smaller national associations in exchange for their votes, with unclear whereabouts of the funds).
1. Is an Attendance Rate of 99.6% Just a “Number Game”? The Statistical Tricks Behind Empty Seats
The officials claim high attendance rates, but why are there empty seats at the venues? The key lies in FIFA’s method of calculation: They count tickets that have been sold or distributed, not the number of people actually sitting in the seats. For example, in the match between South Korea and the Czech Republic, the officials reported 45,000 attendees (nearly the stadium capacity), yet large sections of the east stands and VIP areas were empty. FIFA’s explanation that fans prefer to watch from the corridors is hardly convincing.
Even more absurdly, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there was an instance where the official attendance figure exceeded the stadium’s capacity. Later, FIFA admitted that it had included tickets sold to guests, media personnel, and staff in the count. For this World Cup, FIFA may have “sold” tickets through dynamic pricing and sponsorship packages. However, VIPs who received free tickets were uninterested in the matches, and expensive tickets ended up in the hands of scalpers—FIFA doesn’t care about these empty seats as long as the figures show a high attendance rate.
2. Dynamic Pricing: FIFA’s “One-Way Money-Making Machine”
FIFA is using dynamic pricing for the first time this year, which sounds like adjusting prices based on demand, but in reality, it’s just a mechanism to raise prices without any chance of them falling:
- Primary Market: AI and human intervention are used to drive up prices. When tickets are sold, AI adjusts prices based on popularity and remaining inventory, but humans also manipulate the market by holding onto tickets and keeping prices high, even for less popular matches. For highly sought-after events, ticket prices can soar from $60 to $500—no matter how lucky or fast-connected the fans are, they can’t get a cheaper ticket.
- Secondary Market: FIFA’s resale platforms have no price caps (except in a few regions), and final match tickets have been sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. FIFA takes a 15% cut from both buyers and sellers (a total of 30%). Even more suspiciously, less popular tickets are quietly resold at discounted prices to third-party platforms—FIFA avoids lowering prices to prevent ticket holders from asking for refunds and still makes money, essentially acting as the biggest scalper.
3. “Benefiting Global Football”? The Money May Be Going into the Pockets of Those in Power
FIFA claims that the profits will be used to support the development of football around the world (such as through the Forward 3.0 program, which provides funding for stadium construction and youth training programs in 211 associations). However, the reality is more cynical:
- Fund Allocation as a Power Exchange: FIFA allocates tickets based on each country’s membership status, giving Germany, Brazil, and small island nations with few inhabitants the same number of votes. Large sums of money are given to smaller associations (for example, Montserrat, with a population of 4,400, receives $8 million, or $1,800 per person; India, with a population of 1.4 billion, gets only $8 million, or $0.55 per person). This is a form of power exchange: FIFA buys votes with money, and smaller associations receive subsidies in return for their support during elections.
- Unclear Fund Usage: Despite the claims, funds are often misused. In Montserrat, grassroots football programs were halted, and the local football association’s leadership faced legal issues due to financial irregularities. FIFA has acknowledged that 14 associations have misappropriated funds, but the system remains unchanged. Scholars criticize this, saying, “You know where the money goes when you buy a Taylor Swift concert; with the World Cup, you spend $1,000 and never find out where it goes.”
4. Internal Opposition Is Useless; FIFA Sees Only Opportunities to Make Money
The FIFA team in the United States suggested retaining more affordable tickets, but this proposal was rejected by Zurich-based management because North America is seen as a “one-time opportunity to make huge profits.” They are determined to extract every last dime using algorithms. Even internal staff cannot tolerate this greediness, yet the top officials only care about record-breaking revenue (estimated at $13 billion, three times that of the Qatar World Cup). Who cares about what happens to ordinary fans?
Conclusion
FIFA uses misleading statistics to cover up the injustices in ticketing and wraps its power struggles in the guise of “benefiting football.” Every extra dollar paid by fans ends up in FIFA’s pockets or is used as a bargaining chip in power exchanges. This World Cup may appear to be a football festival, but behind the scenes, it’s a carnival for capital and power. Do you really think all that money will help the children who need football? The answer might lie in the empty VIP seats and the opaque financial dealings.