Are you crazy about money? TA: FIFA charges 15% handling fee for both second-hand ticket sellers and buyers of World Cup

FIFA will charge a 15% fee for buyers and sellers on its official ticketing resale platform for the 2026 World Cup. The platform went live on Thursday, and almost immediately some tickets were priced at tens of thousands of dollars. Many prices are several times higher than the first-tier market on Wednesday, or even more than ten times higher.

In previous World Cups, FIFA limited the resale price to the original price and charged a lower fee, generally 10% or less. For the 2026 event, in order to adapt to the relatively unregulated secondary market in the United States and Canada, FIFA chose not to limit the resale price. Because, as one official said last month, if FIFA limits prices, it will not be possible to stop sellers from turning to third-party platforms such as StubHub to resell for higher returns. However, in Mexico, FIFA has agreed to limit prices to the original price on its ticket exchange platform due to stricter ticket resale laws and government lobbying for price caps.

What a FIFA spokesperson at the time did not state how much share FIFA would draw from all resales. On Thursday, one day after the primary market sales opened, fans found that FIFA would charge 15% of sellers’ revenue (called a “resale fee” under FIFA terms) and would also charge buyers an additional 15% of the list price (called a “buy fee”).

For example, if a ticket is sold for $1,000, the seller will receive $850 and FIFA will charge $150. The buyer will have to pay $1,150, of which in addition to the $850 given to the seller and the $150 that was supposed to give to FIFA, the buyer will also have to pay an additional $150 to FIFA. In other words, for every $100 resale transaction occurs on the FIFA platform, FIFA will earn an additional $30 in revenue.

This is the extra income that will be earning billions in the first-tier market in FIFA. The ticket price for this Club World Cup is by far the highest in history, and in some cases, even considering inflation, it is more than twice as expensive as the same seat in previous World Cups. Industry experts told The Athletic that the 15% fee is similar to the fees charged by StubHub, SeatGeek and other U.S. resale companies. "This ratio is standard, and according to my research, it's a good thing to do, because it's a way to regulate transaction volume in the secondary market," said Pnina Feldman, a professor at the University of Virginia who has studied the ticket resale market. FIFA may also argue that, like dynamic pricing, its resale platform strategy will bring more money into football rather than into individuals and for-profit U.S. companies. But critics believe FIFA is a nonprofit and one of its missions is to make the sport easier to participate. Some also believe that its decision to not limit resale prices encourages scalpers to enter the World Cup ticket ecosystem, mixing into the 4.5 million fans participating in the pre-sale lottery. Zohran Mamdani, a popular candidate in the New York mayoral campaign and a fan, launched a campaign last month called "End Greed" to call on FIFA to restore its resale price cap. He said that this unpriced platform is another way to keep fans out.

On the first day of the official resale opening, a holder sold a third-category group stage ticket for a price of $15,000. Some listing information shows that the price of standard tickets is even higher than the current price of VIP packages that have been sold for months. A ticket to the fourth category of Team America opener at SoFi Stadium in Southern California will be priced at $560 on the primary market on Wednesday and a resale price of $2,950.

A ticket for the fourth category of the finals at the far upper corner of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was sold for $2,030 in the first-tier market the day before, and the resale price was as high as $25,000. And if this resale ticket is purchased, FIFA will charge $7,500. A spokesperson for the

Football Supporters Association (FSA) called the prices shocking and unacceptable. Thomas, head of the FSA England Fan Ambassador "If fans succeed in getting tickets for the fourth category from the first game to the last game, they will cost at least $3,180, which is more than twice the cost of the Qatar World Cup."

" Plus travel and accommodation to the Americas, this will be the highest-cost World Cup we have ever seen, and far exceeding the past. The participating countries should be given a large distribution of the lowest category tickets, not affected by the host city location or dynamic pricing."

"In addition, the participating countries should be located in a key area behind the goal to provide the best support for their teams. We urge the FA to work with the rest of the world to put pressure on FIFA to ensure that this World Cup is economically affordable for fans to watch."

Director of the European Fan Supporters Organization Ronan Evain also spoke out against the high ticket prices, saying in a statement: "The price set by FIFA is so high, which clearly shows that this is a World Cup for middle-class Westerners and a handful of other lucky people in the world who are lucky enough to enter the United States."

"This is not 'really globalizing football', it is the privatization of events that were once open to everyone. What the FIFA leadership seems to be unable to understand is that it requires fans in the stands, it requires vitality, atmosphere, color and diversity. When you set such a price, it no longer exists." A FIFA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for his decision to charge two 15% fees on Thursday night. After the report was released, FIFA responded: "As external ticketing experts acknowledged, the resale fee is in line with industry trends in sports and entertainment sectors across industries, including sports and entertainment," said F.A.. ”

"Certain markets allow legalization of secondary market activities, which makes it necessary to establish a ticketing model that reflects our responsibilities, both providing fans with a safe channel for ticket purchases while ensuring that as much value is retained as possible, because the more revenue generated through ticket sales, the more money FIFA invests back to football. ”

A spokesperson added: “FIFA can confirm that it will retain special ticket allocations reserved for specific fan categories and that these allocations will be sold at a fixed price. ”

source:Game 24h VN