World Cup final ticket prices spike up to $10,990 ahead of final release before tournament begins

Ticket prices have continued to climb since general sales opened in October. Initially, Category 3 seats started at $2,790, while Category 1 tickets were listed at $6,730. In the months since, prices have more than doubled, with the most expensive World Cup final tickets now reaching $10,900.

More broadly, prices remain high across the board. A Category 1 ticket for the USMNT’s June 13 match against Paraguay is listed at $2,735, with more than 1,000 seats available at launch, per the BBC. FIFA has consistently defended its pricing as reflective of North American market norms and strong demand, noting that World Cup revenue is reinvested into developing the sport globally.

Finding exactly how much tickets cost is difficult, as FIFA's own version of so-called dynamic pricing has costs continuously shifting based on demand. No exact information has been made public to date. However, it was clear that higher profile matchups throughout the tournament are made more expensive. Only one match of the top-10 seeded countries, the Netherlands, was reportedly available to buy.

After original ticket prices were far more expensive than promised, FIFA released a "supporter entry tier" price category in which a few hundred tickets were made available at just $60. None of those tickets remained in this week's sale - but whether they were actually sold is unclear.

FIFA promised that tickets for World Cup matches will be steadily released until the last minute. On the official sale portal, it has been difficult to establish how many tickets are available game-by-game. The second-hand market has been even less predictable. In the U.S., prices are well above face value. It is illegal in Mexico to sell second-hand tickets at a price above their original price.