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FIFA President Gianni Infantino is happy. As the ongoing World Cup entered its fifth day on Tuesday, he posted a message on his Instagram account highlighting the impressive attendance figures for the tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. “Wow, 1 million fans in the stadiums!” Infantino said.
He thanked “all the supporters who filled” the stadiums at the World Cup, which kicked off last week with Mexico’s 2-0 of South Africa.
On the eve of this opening match, the FIFA president had notably addressed the issue of ticket prices for this global tournament.
“We have sold more than 6 million tickets so far, and there are still some available, as we always have to reserve some for the teams that qualify for the later rounds. Demand has been unmatched, absolutely incredible, by a factor of ten or more. The entry price, which is $60, is the lowest of all American sports in the knockout stages, and our average price, less than $500, is also the lowest on average among American sports,” Infantino wrote.
He went on to defend the positive transformations this pricing model has brought to global football, claiming that it has allowed for the development of the game across the world.
“If we sold it for less, it would end up on the secondary market at much higher prices. Where would that money go then? To the organizers of the parallel or black market, not to football. Every dollar raised is reinvested in the development of football,” argued the FIFA chief.
“We organize a competition every four years. The other 47 out of 48 months, we reinvest those revenues in growth. Nobody else does that. We organized the biggest event in the history of humankind: 104 Super Bowls in a single month.”
