When dealing with the disorganised criminal outfit that is FIFA (the mafia comparison only goes so far), the titan governing body of world football, subpar service and offerings promise to feature. As gulled fans, corporate clients, media hacks and political worthies seek their place at the Men’s FIFA World Cup being held in the US, Mexico and Canada this June, the feeling of being burgled should not be far from their minds. A great tournament of fleecing is in the offing.
Take, firstly, the risks for those seeking to enter the United States to see the matches. Last month, over 120 organisations, among them the American Civil Liberties Union, collectivelyissueda “travel advisory” tartly warning about “the Trump administration’s violent and abusive immigration crackdown”. No room for a softening of tone here. “The administration’s rising authoritarianism and increasing violence pose serious risks to all”. However, “those from immigrant communities, racial and ethnic policy groups, the LGBTQ+ individuals have been and continue to be disproportionately targeted and affected”.
Elements of the warning are enumerated: the arbitrary denial of entry and risk of arrest, detention and/or deportation of non-US nationals, even those with prior authorisation to enter; selectively onerous restrictions on the entry or nationals, with partial or full restriction of entry on the citizens of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, a number of African states, Iran, Syria and Yemen; and partial restrictions on those from 20 (again, overwhelmingly African states, with the exception of Turkmenistan, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda). Certain visa applicants are also subject to social media screening and a search of their electronic devices, while those admitted risk enjoying the warm hospitality of “violent and unconstitutional enforcement, including racial profiling by law enforcement.” Should you find yourself in the less than commodious surrounds of immigration detention or custody, the “risk of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and in some cases, death”, could not be ruled out.
Jamil Dakwar, the human rights program director at ACLU, wasparticularly witheringabout FIFA’s indifference. The footballing body had “been paying lip service to human rights while cozying up with the Trump administration, putting millions of people at risk of being harmed and their basic rights violated.” Paying lip service to human rights is precisely what FIFA, along with that other hegemon of sports administration, the International Olympic Committee, do with habitual ease. Ditto their response to environmental concerns, the cost of operating events on scale, and the damage done by construction and disruptions inflicted on the unsuspecting host cities.
The warning served to sting the US Travel Association, a non-profit organisation that lobbies and advocates for those in the travel industry. Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the body, put thecase againstthe doom and gloom travel advisory: “There are legitimate ways to challenge policies you oppose and harming the livelihoods of American workers and businesses by frightening away visitors isn’t one of them.” And what of the visitors themselves?
The ticket prices have also proven so high as to engender vertigo and a nervous fiddling of the purse, accompanied by that prod “Is it all worth it?” The scandalously high costs drew even the brief attention of USPresident Donald Trumpwhen asked whether he thought it appropriate that the minimum price of admission to the US World Cup opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12 was US$1,000.
“I did not know that number,”he told the reporterin question. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”
Last November, theNew York Post, citing SeatPick as its source,reportedthat the tournament final scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey could end up being one of the most extortionately expensive events in sporting history. Even prior to releasing the tickets for public sale on December 11, 2025, FIFA was already selling private suits for the final match for a touch under US$200,000.
Prices have also shot up in the resale market. In February this year, four tickets for the final on FIFA’s resale platform came on the market for just under US$2.3 million apiece. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, that execrable fawner to authority,saw few problemswith such inflation in comments made this month to the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. “If some people put on the resale market some ticket for the final at $2m, number one, it doesn’t mean that the tickets cost $2m, and number two, it doesn’t mean that somebody will buy these tickets.” And if such prices are to be found, blame the lack of regulations in the US regarding the resale of tickets.
Clumsily, Infantino further suggested that the resale value should not detract from the availability of 25% of the group stage tickets, available at a more modestly affordable $300. As for anyone willing to purchase a ticket for $2m, Infantino promised delivery, from no less a person than himself, of “a hot dog and a Coke”. What style, what polish.
Source: Global Research
