INFANTINO: NO FOOTBALL IN 150 COUNTRIES WITHOUT WORLD CUP TICKET INCOME

BERLIN, Dec 30 (Bernama-dpa) -- FIFA president Gianni Infantino has dismissed criticism on World Cup ticket prices, saying the income is needed to support football around the world, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

“What’s crucial is that the revenues that are generated from this are going back to the game all over the world,” The Athletic quoted Infantino as saying on Monday at a World Sports Summit in Dubai.

"Without FIFA, there would be no football in 150 countries in the world. There is football because, and thanks to, these revenues we generate with, and from, the World Cup, which we reinvest all over the world," he said.

The Athletic said it was earlier told by a FIFA spokesman that the ruling body planned to reinvest around 90 per cent of its income 2023-2026 into football "to fuel the growth of the game throughout FIFA’s 211 member associations globally" and "significantly boost global football development."

“Without FIFA’s financial support, more than 50 per cent of FIFA’s member associations could not operate.”

Ticket prices for the June 11-July 19, 2026, tournament in the United States (US), Mexico, and Canada are considerably higher than at previous editions, and with the World Cup expanded from 32 to 48, there are now 104 matches, up from previously 64.

Fan groups have hit out at the prices, with Football Supporters Europe naming them “extortionate” and a “monumental betrayal."

FIFA responded by offering a small number of €60 (US$71) tickets for contingents reserved for participating teams.

Despite the criticism, interest appears huge, with FIFA saying on Monday they had received more than 150 million applications halfway through the latest sales phase, which opened around a week after the December 5 group stage draw.

It said the World Cup was oversubscribed 30 times and demand was 3.4 times bigger than the total attendance at all past World Cups.

--BERNAMA-dpa