A sarcastic comment by the FIFA chief about British fans is met with protest. Criticism of the high prices for the 2026 World Cup is flaring up again.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has drawn criticism on the island with a jab at British football fans. “Since we have Mr. Infantino’s attention, we would like to point out that instead of making cheap jokes about our fans, he should rather focus on providing cheap tickets,” the British Football Supporters’ Association announced, according to the BBC, in response to a statement made by the Swiss national at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In a speech on Thursday, Infantino had stated, referring to the critical voices ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, that there had been “practically no incidents” during the tournament. He added: “When the ball rolled and the magic began, we had a wonderful World Cup. For the first time in history, no Briton was arrested during a World Cup. Imagine, that’s something really special.”
After there had been a great outcry in parts of Europe regarding the ticket prices for the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, Infantino admitted that the tickets were “not cheap.” “I was hammered because of the prices. And the main critics, of course, came from Germany and England,” said the FIFA chief, who, however, once again defended the prices by pointing to high demand.
“Currently, the USA is in first place for ticket requests. Germany follows in second place, and England in third, because everyone wants to come and be there,” said Infantino. He also claimed that every game would be sold out. It is not yet publicly known how the ticket requests are distributed among the 104 World Cup matches in the summer (June 11 to July 19).