Four tickets for the FIFA World Cup final are currently priced at £1.7 million on the official resale website, as the governing body faces further criticism over the extortionate prices faced by fans.
The World Cup final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
The four tickets, each listed at £1,703,330, are located behind one of the goals in the lower deck of the venue in block 124, row 45 and seats 33 to 36.
FIFA does not control the asking price on its resale/exchange marketplace, but would a 15 per cent purchase fee from the buyer of each ticket.
The governing body would also net a 15 per cent resale fee from the seller.
This would see FIFA secure £2m in commission should those four seats be sold for the prices listed on the resale website.
Four tickets for the World Cup final have been priced at £1.7m on FIFA’s resale website
The World Cup final is scheduled to take place at the MetLife Stadium on July 19
The seats are listed as category one on the resale website, which are the highest-priced seats and located primarily in the lower tier.
Category one seats range from £11,920 for the final up to the staggering £1.7m price.
The lowest priced ticket on the resale website for the final are currently priced at £8,089.
‘FIFA has established a ticket sales and secondary market model that reflects standard ticket market practices for major sporting and entertainment events across the host countries,’ a FIFA statement read.
‘The applicable resale facilitation fees are aligned with industry standards across North American sports and entertainment sectors.
‘FIFA’s variable pricing ticketing approach aligns with industry trends across various sports and entertainment sectors, where price adaptations are made to optimise sales and attendance and ensure a fair market value for events.’
FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently defended the ticket prices for the World Cup, citing the need to redistribute World Cup revenues to its 211 members to develop football.
‘What many people don’t know, because of course we generate billions in a World Cup, people don’t know FIFA is a non-for profit organization, which means all the revenue we generate, we invest them in the organisation of the game, in 211 countries all over the world,’ Infantino said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently cited the need for the governing body to redistribute its revenues to members as a defence when questioned about World Cup ticket prices
‘Three quarters of (those countries) probably would not be able to have organised football without the grants we could give them. So we always try to find the right balance.
‘The main, and so far the only, revenue-generating event for FIFA is the World Cup.’
FIFA put new blocks of tickets on sale Wednesday on its direct tickets site, marking the 50 days to go milestone.
These included seats in categories one, two and three, as well as a recently introduced ‘front category’ pricing.
Front category tickets have caused controversy, with some fans claiming superior seating had been held back, leading to them being allocated less desirable locations at the stadium when they purchased tickets.
