The Insane Ticket Costs of the World Cup in Kansas City

When it was announced that the 2026 FIFA World Cup was coming to Kansas City, people were thrilled! It was a chance to see the largest sporting event in the world, right in our backyard. For many, it was an “upset” that Kansas City was awarded the right to host games, despite our Soccer Capital of America moniker.

KC is the smallest market that landed games. With about 2.2 million people, KC is 31st in the United States in metro population. Chicago’s 9.4 million metro is the third largest in the country and has no games.

Washington DC’s 6.4 million metro is the next largest unrepresented area, and the first time a nation’s capital isn’t hosting games when the country is hosting the World Cup. Detroit, Minneapolis, San Diego, Denver and many other larger cities are left traveling to other cities to watch games.

The lack of population in Kansas City shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a soccer crazed city. Even the overly long FIFA World Cup draw on December 5th, drew great TV ratings in KC. That’s nothing new for KC, which consistently ranks at the top of the television ratings for all things soccer.

The sad thing is, TV may be the way Kansas Citians and non-wealthy fans everywhere will have to watch the games. Because no matter where the games are, they are very expensive. There has been a lot of attention given to the pricing around the 2026 World Cup and deservedly so.

Dynamic Pricing

Part of the reason prices for this World Cup are so high is because it’s in the United States. Things are just more expensive here. From Taylor Swift tickets to the Super Bowl pricing out average fans, prices are astronomical. And the United States is the richest country in the world. However, that wealth is highly concentrated at the top. The top one percent owns nearly as much of the wealth as the bottom 90 percent. And income inequality is out of control. Imagine coming from a poor nation and trying to watch your country play. It seems nearly impossible.

The other part of the inflated cost of World Cup tickets is the use of dynamic pricing or variable pricing. Essentially, moving the costs of the tickets up and down based on what people are willing to spend. However, so far, they have only gone up. Way up.

This isn’t a concept unique to sporting events or concerts. Companies are actively using customers data to charge more for items based on the zip code you buy them from when you shop online. Sometimes referred to as algorithmic pricing, some states have started to fight back with new laws preventing this form of price gouging.

Kansas City Prices

If you want to attend a game in Kansas City, as of this writing, the cheapest available ticket to sit in a fairly bad seat, is $140 per ticket. That’s a category 3 ticket to Algeria vs. Austria. The category 4 tickets, the cheapest offered, are not even available anymore after the first two presales.

And as you can see, these prices are already increased over the prices before the games were known.

That doesn’t even factor in pricing. In some areas, parking alone is $195! Kansas City has a plan to avoid paying for parking.

Is this More Expensive than Usual?

Yes!

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the most expensive ever. The category 4 tickets, all of which are no longer available, are typically reserved for residents of the host country. This ensures the country putting on the costs of the tournament gets to ensure their residents attend. Often the costs of transportation, security and other costs come partially from taxpayer dollars.

In 2026, FIFA isn’t reserving these tickets for locals.

The costs of those tickets — $20 in 2010, $15 in 2014, $22 in 2018 and $11 in 2022 — have also ballooned. These tickets, which again are all gone, started between $60 and $140 in the group stage. On the resale market, they are at astronomical levels.

Ticket price increases have been seen at all levels. According to The Athletic:

“Even in Category 3, though, the 2026 prices stand out. A Category 3 group-stage ticket, adjusted for inflation, cost $91 in 2006; $120 in 2010; $125 in 2014; $138 in 2018; and $79 in 2022. In 2026, prices vary from match to match, but the average Category 3 ticket costs more than $200 in the group stage. (The group-stage average is $433 in Category 2, compared to $190 in Qatar; and $563 in Category 1, compared to $253 in Qatar.)”

“In every category, for every game, 2026 prices are the highest World Cup ticket prices on record. And in many cases, they’re more than twice the previous high.”

What Can We Do as Consumers?

There is the possibility 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets could come down in price. At the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, also held in the United States, tickets plummeted in the days leading up to games that weren’t sold out. There were reports of tickets available for as little as $4. There are almost certainly no chance prices will get that low in Kansas City or other host cities, but they could come down.

The only thing you can do right now is not buy and hope the massive number of unsold tickets will force prices down.

That’s unlikely to happen for the most premier games, but for a family just wanting to see the World Cup in their backyard, a lower tier game or a game that matters little in the group stage, could come down in price. But for fans dead set on seeing a specific team or game, it’s going to be tough.

For many people, the prices will simply mean they stay home. Or perhaps they go to a fan festival while games are going on in their own city. To Kansas City’s credit, despite FIFA giving them the option to charge, their Fan Fest will be free.

As of right now, I’ll be there, Power and Light or simply watching at home on TV. I know I’m not the only one.

Update 12/16/2025: FIFA has announced some discounted tickets after the backlash, but only to supporters of the nations playing. It’s progress, but not enough. 

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