Price Controls Can’t Make World Cup Tickets Affordable

Governments consistently believe they can outlaw the law of supply and demand, and Ontario’s price caps on World Cup resale tickets are only the latest example. The predictable result is not fairer prices but a black market, proving once again that intervention does not eliminate scarcity, it just pushes the exchange underground.

The following article was originally published by the Mises Institute. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Peter Schiff or SchiffGold.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, this year’s quadrennial event, is being held in North America. The last time that happened was way back in 1994, so it’s no surprise that demand for tickets has been unlike anything seen at previous World Cups. That gap in the number of years—32 years—since a World Cup was played on North American soil, is quite similar to the number of years it was, 27 years, since a New York Knicks NBA Finals appearance. And, with such an extended North American break for the world’s biggest sport’s competition (~1.5 billion people tuned in for the 2022 World Cup final), comes a feverish demand.

Resale ticket prices for each tournament round are, on average, going for roughly 5x their original face value. The resale ranges for the upcoming Quarterfinal and Semifinal rounds are $2-10K and $4-20K, respectively, with the Final’s range going for a gargantuan $10-40K. It’s apparent that in a sport where the average viewership of a World Cup match was 175 million in 2022, the resale ticket prices are going to reach heights that appear ridiculous at first glance, especially when, no pun intended, they are taken at face value.