Donald Trump: I would not pay Fifa’s World Cup ticket prices

United States President Donald Trump has turned on Fifa’s World Cup ticket prices and said he would be “disappointed” if his supporters were shut out.

The President expressed shock at tournament pricing just hours after his friend Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, launched his latest defence of high prices. In response to a World Cup final ticket listed on the secondary market for US$2m ($3.3m), Infantino joked he would “personally bring a hot dog and a Coke” to anyone willing to pay such a price.

However, Trump, who was awarded a peace prize by Infantino last December, later told the New York Post he would be unwilling to spend even the US$1000 needed to watch the USA’s opening game against Paraguay next month.

The Post reports that Trump was taken aback to find out how much fans are being asked to pay for the match in Los Angeles on June 12. “I did not know that number,” he said. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”

The average cost of a ticket to the final is nearly US$13,000. Trump said he had not been aware of prices but expressed concern that working-class fans, whom he counts among his base, could not afford to attend.

“I haven’t seen that, but I would have to take a look at it,” Trump said. “If people from Queens and Brooklyn and all of the people that love Donald Trump can’t go, I would be disappointed but, you know, at the same time, it’s an amazing success. I would like to be able to have the people that voted for me to be able to go.”

The most expensive major event in history kicks off in five weeks. However, Trump’s comments on pricing come amid a backlash in the US, with hoteliers reporting lower-than-anticipated business and train companies accused of price gouging.

“The World Cup has become a crime,” one headline from the Boston Globe said. The New Yorker also published an article questioning whether dynamic pricing was “ruining” the tournament.

Fifa is understood to have up to a million tickets still to sell to reach the tournament’s six million capacity. Sources close to the ticketing process say England’s official allocation has not sold out. The Football Association was oversubscribed with initial interest, but most registered an appetite for the cheaper end.

England fan membership has rocketed in recent years to about 30,000 thanks to improved performances in recent tournaments. Telegraph Sport understands that between 3000 and 4000 England supporters are expected to fly to the US for each match as part of the official allocation.

There is some evidence that concern over prices is being heard at Fifa. Last December, the organisation made more than 100,000 tickets available at US$60 throughout the tournament, including about 1000 for the World Cup final.

In a statement, Fifa explained its pricing policy, saying it had “established a ticket sales and secondary market model that reflects standard ticket market practices for major sporting and entertainment events across the host countries”.

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