FIFA president defends World Cup prices in 'very special' U.S. market

FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended high ticket prices for this year's World Cup in North America by saying on Friday that the event, which captivates the globe, is the organization's only source of income every four years.

Speaking at Semafor's annual world economy summit in New York, Infantino also reiterated that FIFA is a non-profit organization that has 211 nations as members.

"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 organization of the game, in 211 countries all over the world," Infantino said on stage during a Q&A session. "Three quarters of (those countries) probably would not be able to have organized football without the grants we could give them. So we always try to find the right balance."

A check at the secondary-market ticket site StubHub on Friday showed that the most inexpensive ticket for the United States' World Cup opener June 12 against Paraguay was listed at $1,359, while tickets in the lower bowl of the Los Angeles venue were priced as high as $14,000 per seat.

For the World Cup final in the New York area on July 19, a single ticket in the upper deck was priced at $8,860 and as much as $25,000 in the lower bowl.

After initial complaints over the ticket prices and availability, FIFA introduced a $60 option that was only a small portion of each venue.

"The main, and so far the only, revenue-generating event for FIFA is the World Cup," Infantino said. "The World Cup takes place one month every four years, so we generate money in one month. The 47 months until the next World Cup, we spend that money."

Infantino called North America "a very special market," and he said he has been living in the United States the past two to three years in order to better "understand" the market.

A record 48 teams, organized in 12 groups of four, are playing in this year's World Cup that will have games in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will consist of a record 104 matches.

--Field Level Media