With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just over a month away, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the tournament will mark a turning point for the global soccer industry.
Speaking during a conversation at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills on May 5, Infantino directly pushed back against recent criticism over high ticket prices and concerns that the tournament’s economic impact has been overstated.
Infantino compared the World Cup to the Super Bowl, the biggest sporting event in the United States.
“When you consider the number of spectators and viewers, the World Cup is like having 104 Super Bowls over 39 days,” he said. “From a business perspective, this World Cup will be different from every tournament that came before it.”
He pointed to the unique strength of the U.S. entertainment market as one reason for his confidence.
“There are about 1 million tickets available for World Cup matches, and in January alone, purchase requests exceeded 500 million,” Infantino said. “That is more than the last two World Cups combined.”
The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament to feature 48 teams and the largest in history, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Infantino also defended FIFA against criticism that ticket prices are too high and that the organization has overly commercialized soccer.
“The United States is a market where ticket resale is allowed,” he said. “If we set ticket prices too low, those tickets could simply be resold at much higher prices. If we do not reflect market value, the black market, not the fans, will capture all the profit.”
He added jokingly, “If someone buys a ticket to the final for millions of dollars, I will personally bring them a hot dog and a Coke to make sure they have an experience worth the money.”
Infantino also expressed strong confidence in the tournament’s economic impact.
“The World Cup will generate tens of billions of dollars in economic impact and create 800,000 jobs,” he said. “There will be about 500 official event locations.”
He added that soccer investment has historically been concentrated in Europe, but the expansion of the World Cup could open new investment opportunities in other regions, including Africa.
Infantino also emphasized FIFA’s identity as a nonprofit organization.
“FIFA generates revenue from a one-month World Cup held every four years, and then reinvests that revenue into global soccer for the remaining 47 months,” he said.
He noted that the Women’s World Cup, youth tournaments and support for national soccer federations are all funded through World Cup revenue.
“About 150 countries around the world would not have the organized soccer governance they have today without World Cup revenue,” he said.
Toward the end of the conversation, Infantino said he plans to seek reelection as FIFA president next year because “there is still work that has not been completed.”
He said his long-term goal is to create an environment in which 50 of FIFA’s 211 member nations can realistically compete to win the World Cup.
“The clubs capable of becoming world champions should not be limited to five or 10 teams from a few European countries,” Infantino said. “I want to build a structure where 50 clubs around the world can all compete for the top.”
