Globe's Weekly Round up: World Cup Soccer And More
FIFA World Cup, Gaza, Lebanon, and Sudan
THE MOST EXPENSIVE, MOST POLICED TOURNAMENT IN THE GAME’S HISTORY
The 2026 FIFA World Cup opened on June 11 across 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, the first edition to field 48 teams and the first ever staged across three countries. Eighteen days later it has produced a fan death before the opening match, a ticket pricing scandal under formal investigation by three state attorneys general, an ethics complaint against the FIFA president, a transit fare revolt in two states, and an Iranian national team that left the tournament unbeaten and accusing the organizers of wanting them out from the start. The Round of 32 kicked off June 28 with Canada’s first knockout win in tournament history.
THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
The most expensive World Cup ever sold. When the United States, Mexico and Canada won their joint bid, organizers promised a final ticket would cost no more than $1,550. By April 2026 the cheapest standard final ticket had reached $5,785, and FIFA’s own resale platform later listed premium final seats at $32,970, with one ticket reportedly offered at $2.3 million, according to The Conversation and the World Socialist Web Site. Average group-stage prices in cities such as Los Angeles and Dallas ran above $1,000 even sixty days before kickoff, ESPN reported.
The franchise model. For the first time in World Cup history, FIFA operated the tournament directly rather than through a local organizing committee, taking control of ticketing, hospitality, media rights and sponsorship while host cities absorbed the operating costs, Fortune reported. The outlet estimated FIFA would collect roughly $8.9 billion from the tournament while the eleven U.S. host cities faced a collective shortfall approaching $250 million.
Three states open investigations. The attorneys general of New York and New Jersey opened a joint inquiry into FIFA’s ticketing scheme, alleging the organization combined “fake scarcity” with price-gouging, while California’s attorney general launched a separate probe into FIFA’s dynamic pricing model, the World Socialist Web Site reported. Just two days before kickoff, organizers were still sitting on roughly 180,000 unsold tickets, according to The Conversation.
Trump weighs in. Asked about World Cup ticket prices running past $1,000 a seat, President Trump told reporters he would not pay that price himself, ESPN reported.
